Fight For Freedom
by WeirdDutchGuy
Summary: Summary is inside. Chapter 12 up! Who is winning? Who is losing? Kane seems to know, but is he right? The battle is on and Chris is having a hard time fighting Kane's Pokémon! But wait a minute, those look awfully familiar...
1. Robbing Team Rocket!

**Disclaimer:** I do NOT own Pokémon, or anything related to it… sad, isn't it?

**Author's Note:** This is the slightly revised first chapter of my first published fiction. I'm obliged to put a small warning in here so here it is. Just so you know, it contains injuries as result of physical violence, gunfire and Pokémon attacks (duh!). And also contains death. Also it might contain foul language, but I'm not sure on that. Must admit writing without it is kind of hard sometimes. People do swear sometimes you know! It's hard to make them do that without actually putting the word down. You are warned. If someone reads it, please review because I'd like to know what I'm doing wrong, or maybe even to say I'm doing good (preferably the last ;-) but I'll be glad with ANY reviews). Oh well… sigh, on to the story.

**Summary:** (great, I'm not good at making these) Team Rocket has finally managed to take control of Kanto. The story starts out following a guy named Chris who is the leader of a resistance group that try to make the Rocket occupation as uncomfortable as possible, for the Rockets that is. Ash and co. do get in the story at some point. I'm not telling how or when yet. After some more or less successful actions The Lavender Resistance Faction joins up with other movements to try and overthrow the Rocket 'government'. Want to know more? Then read on and be sure to review. Did I mention I'm not good at making summaries before?

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Chapter One: Robbing Team Rocket!

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The Rocket looked in shock at the hole in his chest left by the gunshot, as he felt all life seep out of him. Just before it all went black, he recognized the person standing over his body. 

_Flashback_

_The Rocket looked at the wanted poster as he put it up against the wall: _

**WANTED:**

Name: Chris Fuji.

Age: 19.

Description: Average built, short brown hair, dark blue eyes. Takes great liking to Ghost and Dark type Pokémon, but recent encounters with our forces have forced him to vary his party. Any type can be expected now. Usually dresses in dark clothes and never travels alone or unarmed.

The suspected leader of a group of terrorists that call themselves The Lavender Resistance Faction. This group has recently attacked Team Rocket members at a number of occasions and are too be ARRESTED or SHOT at sight! Any sightings are to be reported to the nearest TR base. They are considered highly dangerous and a menace to society.

Anyone assisting in the capture of these criminals can expect a high reward and special treatment.

_There was even a picture. It was an old one, but a picture nonetheless. He could tell it was old, since the boy in it looked barely older than sixteen._

"_I still don't see why we're doing this." The Rocket grumbled at his partner. "These people won't help us find him anyway! So why bother!"_

"_Because the Boss wants him found, that's why! That's all the reason you need to know. And who knows, maybe one of these idiots is going to come to his senses and see we are here to stay and they'd best make the best out of it!" his partner replied. The Rocket just grunted in reply and picked up the pile of posters on the floor next to him. They still had the rest of the city to do._

_End Flashback_

As Chris put away his gun, he couldn't keep himself from looking at the Rocket's body. The world sure had changed since Team Rocket took over. They made sure every trainer turned in his/her Pokémon to keep them from causing trouble. Then came the rules. The most absurd ones he had ever heard. People were supposed to 'trust' Rockets now, the very same that had caused so much trouble before. And that wasn't even the worst part. Rockets could do anything to you and get away with it. Guess their rules don't apply to them. But then again, they also didn't apply to him. At least that's what he thought. He had disobeyed them from the start, giving them empty Pokéballs to keep his Pokémon, never showing respect (and definitely no trust) to a Rocket and fought back when they tried to pick on him. He had frustrated them to the point that they killed his family and arrested his friends, because they couldn't get him. He knew that people who were 'arrested' were never heard of again. Yes, he hated Team Rocket. And they'd know it to.

"Hey boss," the young voice pulled him out of his thoughts, and he looked at the spot it came from. "Did you have to kill him!" the teen finished, as he looked at the body in terror.

"What else should I do, hug him!" Chris answered. Some muffled laughs could be heard behind the boy.

An older sounding voice spoke up from the corridor: "Are we going to stand here all day, or are we going to do what we came for?"

"You're right, we'd better get moving." Chris replied, looking at the aim of the trip. A big steel door with a highly sophisticated lock, complete with a keypad and the handprint reader next to it. He saw no cameras, just a long hall with two corridors coming into it. One they were in, and another at the other side. Also he saw another door straight across the steel one. But the hall looked deceptively empty. Breaking in had been easy, as another group had caused quite the distraction outside. Even moving around inside the base had been easy. They'd hardly run into any guards at all until they got here.

"_It's too easy!"_ Chris thought as he and his men stepped out the corridor. _"Only one guard and a half decent lock! I expected at least 2 guards, or a…"_ the sound of footsteps behind the other door interrupted his thoughts.

They were too erratic and rushed to be an ordinary patrol, which left only one possible explanation. Somehow Team Rocket knew they were here. Granted, shooting the guard hadn't been very quiet, but these were big fat steel doors and walls. Chris froze as he saw how they had been discovered. Just above his ankles a thin green beam could be seen. Laser sensors!

"Oh crap!" it was all that would come out "Get ready!"

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The door was thrown open with great force and in the doorway there stood six Rockets, guns in hand. However they where treated to a big Flamethrower, courtesy of Chris' Arcanine. When Chris realized the Rockets were about to open the door his hand had shot down. Not to his gun but to his Pokéballs. The Rockets did have their guns in hand and Chris knew a gunfight was the least they could use now. So Chris got out the Pokéball that contained his Arcanine and ordered it to use Flamethrower at the door just in time.

After Arcanine burned the Rockets to crisps, he recalled it.

"How could we've been so stupid and overlook the sensors! At least we still have some time before they come again. Speaking of which, Franky please hurry and get that door open." Chris spoke to the 16-year old. "Sure thing, Chris." Frank immediately set to work on the door, connecting his laptop to the keypad and started typing.

Behind the steel door lay most of the Pokémon Team Rocket had confiscated in Lavender Town after the take over and which Chris and his men intended to take back today.

"I'm in!" The boy exclaimed. The door opened and revealed a large room filled with shelves. On those shelves lay Pokéballs. After staring at the rather large quantity of balls with an eager look, Chris took out several large bags and passed them around. With all those Pokémon they should be able to put up a half decent fight next time Team Rocket tried something. They were going to get a tough time from now on.

"Fill them up!" he said glancing at his watch. Fifty minutes till sunrise, they had to be out by then…

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AN:** In the short time I've been on here I've become famous for my cliffhangers. I tend to have one every chapter and you just ran into the first one. Now I must admit this chapter isn't very good, especially since this is supposedly the revised version. Yes, it is small, but trust me, things get better. The only noticeable changes are: I've taken out the spelling and grammar errors, and I've added a little here and there. Chapters two and three will have the same changes. The others won't be revised.

WeirdDutchGuy


	2. Things Got Compicated,

**AN:** Hello again. I hope you enjoyed reading chapter one a bit more this time around, with it being a bit worked on. Now it's time for chapter two. Pretty much the same thing has happened here: less grammar errors, less spelling errors, slightly higher word count. And yes, you saw it correctly; no summary. I did a bad enough job the first chapter and I refuse to degrade myself further, if you want one so bad hit the back button. Better yet, don't want one and if you read it already forget reading it.

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Chapter Two: Things Got Complicated, So Things Went Wrong…

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"They're in the storage room! Sent more guards down there!" Butch yelled after looking at the screen. 

"Yes sir!" a Rocket replied before speeding off.

Butch wasn't happy at all with what he was seeing. He and Cassidy had been put in charge of getting rid of those faction rebels. To do so, they had come up with a plan to catch them, but that did not include them getting this far. There was no telling what would happen next now that the rebels had access to the Pokémon. If it hadn't been for that stupid kid with his laptop, the plan would've worked just fine. Now however, he wasn't so sure.

"Don't get so worked up about it, there's no where they can run. The whole place is locked down and surrounded." said Cassidy. She smirked when she saw Chris on the monitor. "He has no idea what's coming to him."

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"Did we get every single one of them?" Chris asked. His men nodded. "Then let's get out of this place." 

"Wait! Come see this, I found something!" said the kid with the laptop.

"Found what?" Chris asked.

"Everything! It's all here; I think I've just hacked their central network."

"What! You hacked a network through a keypad!" Chris was no scientist, but he knew those weren't supposed to be connected to anything even nearly as important as a mainframe. "No, through the handprint reader. I think that's linked up because it needs access to the handprint data… What do you want me to do now?" The boy asked, visibly excited.

"Copy as much of the data as you can, and then try to crash their system." He answered while thinking _"Let's just cause as much chaos as possible while we're at it. And if he really can get his hands on everything that will give us the advantage for the first time."_

Just as he finished his thoughts, he heard those footsteps again. "Here we go again!" he said to his men, and to Frank: "Hurry! We'll stall them!" Soon Pokéballs flew through the air and out came Chris' Arcanine and Raichu, and some Pokémon owned by his men.

Soon the door opened for the second time, and for the second time, a wall of flames shot towards it. Only it did no damage because it was blown apart by a Hypno, with a smirking Rocket grunt behind it. "Get them!" And several Rockets came rushing out the door and the corridors. Attacks were flying through the air and yells of pain could be heard. When the dust cleared there were no Rockets in sight. But the Faction members had also taken a beating. Chris came here with 6 of his men; he would be leaving with 2.

"Darn! Aren't you finished yet! We need to get out of here!" he yelled at Franky. "Yeah I'm done, let's go."

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"If you want something done well here, you have to do it yourself." Butch mumbled as he grabbed the Pokéball in which was his Raticate. "It appears so." Cassidy replied. "You four, come with us!" she ordered 4 Rockets in the room. Then they set off to meet the Faction members.

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Chris' radio crackled and a voice was shouting through the other end. _"Chris, I don't know how you're doing, but these guys out here are getting desperate."_ The voice belonged to Chris' brother, John. John was keeping the exit clear with some others, but the attacks from the grunts became stronger and fiercer every time. 

"John, can you hold out for just a few more minutes? We're on our way out right now." The reply wasn't something Chris wanted to hear. _"No way, these guys are everywhere! It'll be a miracle if we can pull that off."_ The explosion heard at the end wasn't too good either.

"Ok, pull back." Chris ordered reluctantly. "We'll find our own way out."

_"These corridors go on forever, and it's slowing us down. Time for a better approach."_ Chris thought as he pulled out his Steelix and released it. "Dig us a tunnel so we can get out of this place." Steelix agreed and was about to start digging when Butch and Cassidy showed up.

"Don't even try! This floor happens to be made of reinforced concrete." said Cassidy. "So? That has never stopped Steelix before." Chris replied.

"Think you're smart huh? Go Hypno! Go Houndoom!" "Go Hitmontop! Go Raticate!"

"Four against one? Last time I checked that wasn't very fair. Get them Gengar!" Soon five more Pokémon materialized between the two groups.

"Hitmontop, Jump Kick!" Butch ordered his fighting Pokémon to attack Gengar, but as he is a ghost Hitmontop just passed straight through.

"Hypno, use confusion!" Cassidy yelled.

"Nightshade!" was the reply.

Both attacks hit, and despite both having a type advantage only Hypno went down due to Gengar's obviously higher level. Gengar wasn't in the best of shapes either, so it had to end fast.

"Finish it Gengar, Shadow Ball!" Gengar, now panting, complied and caused a huge explosion in the small corridor sending both sides back. The smoke cleared and all of Team Rocket's Pokémon were down. Also there was a big hole in the concrete floor, exposing the soft ground underneath. "Steelix, lets try this again. Dig!" Steelix dug a hole and soon everyone followed him, leaving Team Rocket behind, still dazed by the explosion.

"NO! Get back here you, you brat!" "Uh-oh, the Boss won't like this!" Butch moaned. Cassidy turned to the 4 Rockets that had come with them. "What are you waiting for! Go after them!" Afraid of what would happen if they didn't, they all jumped in the hole.

Meanwhile Chris turned around and looked at Gengar. "Do it." Gengar fired another attack at the entrance causing it to cave in on the Rockets. Chris returned Gengar. They had escaped again.

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_To Be Continued…

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AN:** There, chapter two revised and all. Again, I hope you liked this version better. I was unpleasantly surprised by the amount of errors in this one. Am I ever glad I fixed them. I even added a little bit. See if you can find it and tell me. I'd like to know whose paying attention. I still think the first three are horrible chapters, but at least now they're readable. Review!

WeirdDutchGuy  



	3. An Unexpected Guest

**AN:** Number three on the list and the last one to be revised. I'd like to apologize to the people who've read the unrevised versions. My constant nagging for reviews must've gotten to some peoples nerves. No more of that now, no more grammar and spelling errors, no more typos, just a nicely flowing story. Still short, but at least now you can read it. So, have fun reading.

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Chapter Three: An Unexpected Guest.

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A lonely young man was walking in no general direction at all. He was covered in dirt and his clothes were torn in different places. He had been on the run since the start of all this, but only the last few months had he been in Kanto. Getting in had been very hard as security was strict and Rockets lurked round every corner in the empty streets. Fights had been inevitable but he tried hard to avoid them. After he got into Kanto he had gone straight to his old house in Pallet, but found nothing there. His friends and family that lived there were gone. He didn't make much of it, thinking they probably went into hiding. So he went to the nearest place he had a friend, Pewter. Again he found nothing, as if everything related to him had vanished into thin air. On his way to Cerulean, where he'd probably find the same thing to have happened, he had run into a few Rockets eager to claim the reward on his head. When he finally did get to Cerulean his fears were confirmed. His friend was gone. Feeling beaten and utterly exhausted he eagerly took Nurse Joy's offer and rested a few days. On the sixth day she came rushing in saying he had to leave. The Rockets had somehow gotten wind of it and were turning the whole town upside down. In his hurry he took the wrong turn and found himself not headed for Saffron, but for the Rock Tunnel. It was too late to turn back now so he headed down the path hoping for the best. He was glad when he spotted a large rock on the side of the road. Something he could sit on and rest for a while. The second he sat down he dozed of, dreaming of happier times… It wasn't to last though, as he was soon startled by the sound of an engine. No wait, two engines! Now fully awake, he looked down the path where he had just been walking and saw two Jeeps loaded with Rockets coming his way. He quickly woke up his Pikachu. 

"Let's go buddy, this is going to be a long walk." "Chaa…" the Pikachu complained.

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Frank slowly opened the door to the 'office' and peeked inside. He didn't see who he wanted to, but John would have to do.

"Sir, where's the boss? I've got to show him something important." He asked.

"Hmm? Oh it's you. It's Saturday so he's out training and he doesn't like being disturbed when he's training. But I guess if it's that important… by the way, when you see him tell him a messenger arrived this morning. I send him to the dorms because he was exhausted." John answered, and as if he knew which question was next: "He trains near the Tunnel entrance."

After hearing this Franky set off through the long hallways of the secret Faction base. The entrance wasn't far, but it could be a dangerous walk as wild Pokémon were more plentiful and aggressive in the Rock Tunnel. When the walls were replaced with the cold rock of the Tunnel he pulled out a Pokéball, ready to defend his life should anything pop up.

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A pair of dark blue eyes watched from under a cap at a flamethrower and water gun meeting in between Arcanine and Golduck. Where it met the flames were put out by the water and the water was evaporated by the heat.

"Give it all Golduck!" Chris ordered, and not soon after the jet of water leaving Golduck's mouth almost doubled in size and started to push towards Arcanine. "Your turn Arcanine, dig deeper, you can do it!" his eyes narrowed as the light and heat of Arcanines flamethrower intensified. The contact point stopped moving soon after. Chris was pleased and ordered his Pokémon to stop their attacks. "Let's go check on the others, ok?" he told his Pokémon.

Just as he started to stroll over to the other Pokémon, who were also training nearby, something caught his eye. A dust cloud was moving up the path to the entrance. "What the? Wasn't everybody banned from going out of town? This can only be Team Rocket!" he thought, while getting out his binoculars. Can't be to sure, can you? Looking through his binoculars he saw a guy of about his age getting pursued by two Jeeps… packed with Rocket grunts. The Jeeps were catching up and the guy's Pikachu turned around and used a Thundershock at the front Jeep, popping its tires. The Rockets still capable of moving after the crash with the tree climbed out and continued the pursuit on foot. By now, Frank had made it to the entrance of the cave and saw Chris.

"Boss…" Franky started, but after a seeing what was going on he paused. "Go, go get some men and get back here as fast as you can!" Chris snapped and Frank left. Chris stepped out in the open and drew out his handgun. He was ready, let's see how ready they were.

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_"This is bad, I'm hardly feeling my legs and looks like the running is going to go on for a while."_ Ash thought to himself. Worse of all, he was now seriously considering turning and facing his pursuers. As quickly as the thought came up he rejected it. There were too many of them and they might be carrying guns. He glanced back for a moment and started running faster because that Jeep was now catching up fast. Maybe if he could make it to the entrance he might shake them off. In the dark it should be easier. He looked up to see how far it was when he saw a person standing in the middle of the road, with a handgun pointed at him. He was just about to let Pikachu Thunder him when the person yelled at him. "HIT THE DIRT!" In no mood to disobey a guy with a gun Ash dropped to the ground and not soon after he heard a few shots, screaming tires and the sound of metal crashing into solid rock. He looked up to see a smoking gun in the guy's right hand, and his left hand in front of his face. After he was helped up he looked back and saw the Jeep started to burn.

"We need to get out of here, that thing's going to blow. Follow me." Chris said and started walking to the cave entrance, not awaiting an answer. Ash, having little choice, followed. On the way in they passed a handful of men lead on by Frank.

"They're on the road near the exit, just clean it up a bit and make sure none of them get to tell their boss we're here." Chris bluntly said. His men nodded and continued walking. Ash was surprised to find the Tunnel well lit, not to mention it being the main base of the resistance in the area. Chris didn't know he was in for quite a surprise himself when they opened the large door into the base…

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_To Be Continued…

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AN:** There, the revisions are finished. Now I can get my full attention back to writing chapter nine and uploading it and everything that comes with it. I've also uploaded a one shot I wrote for a contest on The Pokemon Tower Forums. It's short, but I think it's better than what you've read up till now. Have a nice read and don't forget to drop a review.

WeirdDutchGuy  



	4. Revelations

**Disclaimer:** I can imagine reading these disclaimers every time gets boring. I mean, the main thing they say stays the same, doesn't it? They all say, be it in different ways, the author does not own the subject(s) he/she writes about. Actually it's just a precaution to keep the actual owners from suing the writer for the illegal use of the subject(s). And so, to continue this tradition, (and to keep from getting sued) I disclaim being the owner of Pokémon (sad, but true). Though I seriously doubt any owners would actually be reading this. I also don't understand why this would have to be on the top of every chapter (it does, doesn't it?) I mean, if I put it at the start of the story you can't really miss it, as you have to read it to get to the story. I made up my mind; I'm not writing these things anymore. They take up to much space anyway, I mean just look: this one would be like, a quarter of a page! I'm going to stop now to be honest, it's getting too long (partially because of my ranting I guess…) 

**Author's Note: **_See? I am alive! I didn't forget the story existed! I'm very pleased to see people actually read what I write, and take it seriously. I have plenty of announcements to make. Number one is that I've grown up and honestly don't give a dam about getting reviews or not. Actually one might say I'm a bit late with it, coz people have already reviewed. Number two is that I'm VERY happy with the reviews and will therefore answer them here._

_Windra – As you can see, there's more. Also I say there will be more people in it from the show (even though I don't own them)._

_blackfalcon214 – Yes, I was desperate I guess. Anyway I want to thank you for pointing out some major grammar errors. My teacher would probably kill me if she saw them. Luckily she won't see them P. I'll try to avoid them from now on, but I can't be certain there won't be more, coz really, English is not my native language (Dutch is, but you might have guessed that). So I say sorry in advance for any future grammar errors and sorry for the confusion they cause. And I am aware that I tend to make sentences way to complicated. It's in my nature to use big words I guess._

_No one in particular – Thanks for the review and I'll try to add more length and detail wherever possible… they are kind of small huh. Yeah, I'll try and make them longer. My aim is 2000+ words per chapter now in comparison to the 1000 they were before._

_hacker-g – Uh… you don't really hack do you? Although you admit to only reading chapter 1 a review is a review. Hurry up and read the other 2 though P_

_Story Weaver1 – Actually, I thought of a prologue too, only problem is, I thought of it well after the first chapter went up. So I didn't write it. I'm planning on writing a story that takes place before this one that – hopefully – leads to the events here. But I want to finish this one first, if you don't mind. Also there will be more funny stuff. At least I'll try to put more funny stuff in it._

_Joy-girl – You're welcome ) I know of the grammatical errors and about the not-giving-enough-details part. 'Coz' is a word people use in life, but I guess I should write it as 'cause in stead. It looks better that way, maybe more professional, so thank you ) … I just saw something: my spelling check says 'coz' isn't wrong. No red line…Ash' pokémon will be mentioned… next chapter .; Hope you don't mind waiting a bit._

_This note will be broken up by the QuickEdit so this note alone will be like, half a page. Wait, it's already half a page in word, so that would be a whole page o.0; I'm going to stop ranting now… I scare myself sometimes…

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Chapter Four: Revelations.

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Outside there was a battle raging between the Rocket grunts and the Faction members. Though outnumbered at first, the Faction members now held an advantage over the grunts, after taking out several of their Pokémon. Only a handful were left now, and Frank's Scyther was well underway to make another one bite the dust. Suddenly the burning Jeep exploded, distracting the fighters. Taking use of the distraction one of the grunts reached for a gun, but he never made it as a Growlithe sank its teeth deep into his arm, making him drop the weapon. As the other Rockets saw their comrade fall, anger fueled there combat spirits. As if on queue all their Pokémon unleashed special attacks at the types weakest to them. Though hit hard, the Faction members and their Pokémon didn't give them any more room and went straight back into the offensive. Scyther was landing one hard hit after the other and was backed up by a dozen others. If the Rockets had anything left to give, they didn't show it. Resistance ceased and the surviving grunts quickly surrendered. After rounding up the survivors they marched them off to the home-made prison inside the base. Frank, or Franky as everyone called him here, scanned the battlefield and, though quite disturbed by a few bodies that lay about, followed after assuring himself nothing out there was still alive.

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Ash was surprised to find the Tunnel well lit, not to mention it being the main base of the resistance in the area. Chris didn't know he was in for quite a surprise himself when they opened the large door into the base…

After entering the large door, they were walking in the hallway when they heard singing from the office. Chris decided to check who was singing and shut him up, because it was a pain to hear. He opened the door and walked in, only to freeze and form a sweat drop at the sight of a singing, dancing man. The man, dressed casually in a black shirt and blue jeans, was his brother and was known as John.

"What are you doing?" he asked confused.

"Yo bro! What's up?" John replied with a grin from one ear to the other. When he tried to pull Chris into a dance, Chris backed up, and his sweat drop got even bigger.

"Are you feeling alright?" he asked his brother.

"Am I feeling alright? I'm feeling better then alright, man! I'm feeling great!" was the reply, and he tried to pull him in again. Chris pushed him off this time and said "John, you shouldn't do stuff like this, people might think your crazy or something. On the other hand, maybe they'd be right." "The reason I'm so cheerful happens to be a good one. Its right there." he said, as he pointed to F's laptop standing on his desk.

"He left it here when he went looking for you. Guess curiosity got the better of me."

"You know he'll kill you when he finds out. But before you die tell me what's on it that made you so giddy." Chris asked.

"It's a list of names, of people in Team Rocket jails. Some of them are quite interesting you should read it, especially under the F." Curiosity started to take its toll on Chris now as well, and a tiny spark of hope, knowing full well his last name, Fuji, started with a F. Maybe their parents, who they thought to be dead, were still alive.

_Flashback_

_Panicking people were running about on the street, yelling cries as: "The Rockets are coming!" Why this had to happen now was beyond anything he could imagine. His gym had only just received official status, and now this! Chris thought hard about what he should do. The only thing on his mind was protecting the town._

_"Chris, I know this is though, but you have to let go. Take your mother and run for it, they'll be here any minute now." His father spoke sternly. "I refuse to leave you here dad! Just come with us!"_

_"I can't. You know that. I'll stall them so you can get away, now go! You're wasting time!"_

_"No! I'm not leaving you. I want to stay as well. Besides, I'll only slow the boys down." It was his mother. What was she thinking! Great, now both his parents refused to flee. His father saw the concern on his face and turned to him again._

_"I'll manage, really. I raised my Pokémon with care, they won't win that easily. I have to go now, the other villagers that want to stay and defend their homes are gathering on the street. Take whatever's in the fridge and leave." Suddenly the sound of screeching tires was in the air._

_"They're here! Take the backdoor and go!" Chris obeyed as his father went out the front, but when he got to the door he turned again._

_"Come on bro!" John said as he pulled Chris through the door. Outside they could hear the fighting going on in the streets. They barely left the backyard when gunshots rang out…_

_End Flashback_

His parents! That would explain John's sudden burst of happiness. He turned his attention to the laptop's screen.

As Chris and John were occupied with the laptop Ash was about to ask where he could get some food when a young man walked in, took in the scene before him, and started yelling obscenities at the two brothers. They didn't pay any attention to him though, and continued as if he didn't exist. Meanwhile, Ash' stomach had started to grumble, and he patted the guy on his shoulder.

"Hey, do you know where a guy can get some food? I'm-" But Ash was cut short by his stomach which set loose a long, loud rumble catching everyone's attention.

"Franky, would you be so kind as to escort our guest to the mess hall? He seems a bit hungry." John chuckled, before returning his attention to the screen once more. After Frank and Ash had left he turned to Chris, who was still busy scanning the seemingly endless list of names. "Where did you pick him up? He looks pretty messed up. You sure we can trust him?"

"He was headed straight for the entrance; he would've found the place anyway. Besides, some grunts were following him, so he must've done something wrong in their eyes which would be good in ours. He looks quite familiar, but I just can't put my finger on it."

"Hmm… but can we be sure that our enemy's enemy is our friend? We'd better have Franky check him out later."

Suddenly Chris' mouth dropped as he stared blankly at the screen before him. Slowly his open mouth turned into the largest smile he had ever made, as he started laughing hysterically. John already knew what he'd seen. Soon both brothers were dancing around the 'office' singing loudly, drawing odd faces from by passers.

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While Ash was busy stuffing his face, he thought of the things that had happened over the last 9 months. He'd been in Hoenn for a meeting with its Champion and Elite Four when he heard the Indigo Plateau had been raided by Team Rocket.

_Flashback_

_"What do you mean 'attacked'!" He yelled at the official who had just told him the Indigo Plateau in Kanto had been attacked by swarms of Team Rocket grunts. "Just as I said, Team Rocket attacked and destroyed the League building in Kanto. Reports state there are no survivors… I'm sorry."_

_Ash felt his legs give way. There was no way Team Rocket had enough resources to lead an attack against the most well guarded building in all of Kanto, and succeed! No survivors… How could they know if there was no one to tell them!_

_"Are you sure there are none?" Ash asked in a monotone voice. "Yes, quite. Satellite images show no signs of life except people with black outfits. People wearing Team Rocket uniforms."_

_The official shifted a bit uneasy at the champ's last outburst. "We should probably send a warning to all police stations in the region; this Team Rocket might be up to something." Ash realized what the official had said made good sense. If the League had fallen, what would happen if the cities were attacked? Would the Gym leaders even stand a chance?_

_"I have to get there soon. I'm leaving right now, come on Pikachu!" Ash spoke as he turned to the door, his little yellow friend following soon after._

_End Flashback_

He didn't know it back then, but things were going to get a lot worse. By the time he reached Goldenrod things had taken a turn for the worst. Kanto was under complete control of Team Rocket, who apparently started a massive, nationwide assault on all Kanto cities right after the Indigo raid. He was told most Gym leaders put up a fight, but they were all defeated swiftly. All save Blaine, who stayed in hiding on Cinnabar Island. Ash tried to get into Kanto, but was stopped by a few of his friends who made it quite clear he'd be walking straight into a trap. It wasn't until a few months later, when Blaine led a successful revolt on Cinnabar, that Ash decided the time had come. After making his way across the border during the night he reached Viridian, which was crammed with Rockets. He headed south towards Pallet Town, where his home was.

_Flashback_

_He had again waited until nightfall. That way he'd be harder to spot by any patrols. Making his way across the countryside he came up to Pallet during the early morning. As he approached his house he could feel something was wrong. The streets were empty and all the houses had their curtains closed. Just as he was about to turn the doorknob several grunts came from behind the house, grinning like madmen._

_"Ah, there you are. You sure made us wait mister Ketchum." Ash turned to face a man who was definitely in Team Rocket, but his uniform was slightly different. His pants were deep grey and he wore a similar grey vest over his long sleeved black shirt, with red R's imprinted on both sides. Dark sunglasses covered his eyes as his mouth curved up into a soft smirk._

_"After we didn't find your body at the Plateau I figured you'd head home, but not that you would take so long. Allow me to introduce myself; I am Kane, and I'm the one who plans, and sometimes carries out, the dirty work in our organization. I'm virtually second only to the Boss himself. Come quietly mister Ketchum, or risk this place to be totaled. We were already kind enough to take your mother to avoid her getting hurt." The man spoke, his smirk seemingly getting a tad more evil-like. The other Rockets started to surround Ash, who couldn't take his eyes off Kane after those last words left his lips. His eyes burning with anger Ash moved into a battle stance and Pikachu jumped in front of him, sparks flying off his cheeks._

_"A very rash and dangerous move mister Ketchum, one I'll make you regret!" Kane spoke as he positioned himself directly opposed to Ash, hand hovering close to his belt. A showdown about to begin…_

_No End To Flashback… yet!

* * *

_

_To Be Continued…

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_

**

* * *

Author's Note:** _Aren't I evil? I'm going to leave you there for a bit. I know… loads of flashbacks this story, but you asked for the past! And I couldn't think of a better way to put it in the story. Also, at first I had no idea how to name the chapter until I decided to reveal the past of both Chris and Ash, hence 'Revelations'. At last I got past the tricky part, and hopefully this story will flow a bit better from now on. I hope you all enjoyed reading this latest addition to my story, which counted a total above 2000 words. It is almost twice as long as the other chapters so I am quite pleased with myself . This chapter, including the enormous note etc. counts just about 3000 words… wow! Also I am surprised that apart from the Pokémon names (and the word itself) and Franky and Windra and Johto and Hoenn and Hm… and Yo (what's wrong with 'Yo' anyway) and QuickEdit there are no misspelled words… Okay, so there are more misspelled words then I counted on, who cares anyway ) There are no real major grammar errors… I think… Well, apart from 'People wearing Team Rocket uniforms.' which appears to be grammatically incorrect… -.-;_

_WeirdDutchGuy (Ok, so my name is not a good word, so what!)_


	5. Evil Plans and Conspiracies

**AN:** _Ah… here I am again. I see people liked the flashbacks, and I think I left one going last chapter. It will be finished and maybe more will start. QuickEdit is evil… it took out my emo's. MY EMO'S! No one touches my smiley's but ME! I try to get my emotions across in those and put lots of work in them (hey, I really do!), and they just disappear! It's not fair! Hmph, I'll just have to make due without them then. Guess what? I got more reviews!_

_Blackfalcon214 – I'm glad you liked it. I really think complicated sentences are just in my nature. Just can't get rid of them. Also I usually mess up the 'to' and 'too' part. Never was really good at that, and I still haven't a clue when to use to and when to use too… Since it appears 'to' is used more often I have a habit of only using that… Word doesn't really pick up on those two either, so the grammar check is useless. Actually, I'm not a very big planner at all. In fact, I make this up along the way and see where it gets me, which is probably why it takes so long to update._

_Joy-girl – Thank you for the review. I know flashbacks are good, but having over half the story in italics can't be good. It was a long time ago, somewhat like 4 months, I wrote chapters 1-3. So it does kind off make sense I improved. Though I still don't believe to have improved that much, really. All I did was make it longer._

_Princessstphanie – Thank you for your 4 reviews, though I believe they got a bit messed up. Your review of chapter 2 is on the top etc., very strange. Also I found review alert doesn't seem to work with your reviews. Ash was in chapter 3, and the others will soon follow… or maybe not very soon but eventually they will. Cliffy's are evil… I like them. But what do I need another one of? Chapter, or something else?_

_Story Weaver1 – Glad you did. Hang on, because you're going to find out more._

_Caleb – I assure you this story is in no way connected to Freedom Fighters. Though the name sounds familiar, I'm pretty sure I've never played that game before, so I really wouldn't know how its story goes. All similarities, and from what you said that's a lot, are just coincidental. And we Dutch would never convert to communism unless we were captured. Which is what I guess happened in the game, right?_

_Now onto the story! This note is getting too long anyway.

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_

**Chapter five: Evil Plans and Conspiracies.

* * *

**

_The Flashback Continues…_

_"Where did you take her?" Ash asked. He was very angry, how dare this creep touch his mother. Kane was going to pay._

_"Oh, she's safe… for now." Kane answered in a threatening voice. That was it, he was going down! "Pikachu, Thunder him!" Ash yelled. The other Rockets were about to move in, but Kane stopped them and released a Dugtrio who took the electric attack without flinching._

_"I studied you well, mister Ketchum. There's nothing you can do to surprise me. As for you, stay out of it! He's mine!" The grunts backed away to give the fighters room. Ash was puzzled; it wasn't like Team Rocket to fight fair. This guy must be pretty sure of himself._

_"Well, as it seems you won't make the first move I will. Dugtrio, Magnitude!" Kane yelled and his pokémon started emitting shockwaves. Magnitude can be stronger as Earthquake, but this one was pretty weak and Pikachu withstood it._

_"It seems luck isn't with you, Kane! Pikachu, Quick Attack!" Immediately the mouse dashed off at his target. But before he reached it, the Dugtrio dug into the ground and Pikachu halted. Ash cursed under his breath and frantically searched for any sign of Dugtrio._

_"Heheh, we have you now! Dugtrio, surface and hit him hard!" Kane ordered his pokémon with a confident smirk. Dugtrio did just that and Pikachu was send airborne by the force of the attack. Pikachu recovered and landed on all fours, though he was panting and bruised. Ash was about to switch him when suddenly one of the grunts cried out in pain and collapsed on the ground. Two figures stood on the road, their appearance masked by shadow as the sun hadn't fully emerged yet. In front of them stood a Charizard and a Venusaur, the last one still retracting a vine._

_"Not now!" Kane thought. "What are you waiting for, get them!" He yelled at the remaining Rockets, whose pokémon immediately charged the two mysterious figures. The Charizard responded by flaming half with a huge Flamethrower and the Venusaur released a great number of vines to swat away the others. Kane watched with an angry expression and turned to glare at Ash._

_"It appears we'll have to put this little match of ours on hold, mister Ketchum." He said as he recalled Dugtrio. "I'll be ready for a rematch anytime you want. Just let me know." And after that he and the other Rockets ran off before more could be said._

_End Flashback… finally._

It turned out those two were the other trainers who left on their journey on the same day as Ash and Gary. After thanking them Ash had moved on to Pewter in hope of finding Brock, not really believing all gym leaders were killed as the two trainers claimed. Once in Pewter the gym had been razed and there was no sign of the Slates. The good news was none of the locals remembered a battle near the gym, so chances were Brock had done the wise thing and fled. He always had been one to use his head, unlike Ash who rushed into everything. Ash' thoughts were thrown off as Frank appeared next to him.

"How's the food?" He asked as he watched in amazement as Ash stuffed half a sandwich in his mouth.

"Weally nice!" Ash managed to bring out while gulping down the sandwich. "I really needed something to eat. How about you buddy?" He said while looking down at the floor where Pikachu was eating his share.

"Pika!" Came the happy reply. "So… who are you?" Frank hesitantly asked. "Oh yeah, we haven't been introduced… Frank it was, right? My name's Ash, and that's my pal Pikachu." Ash answered.

"THE Ash! The League champion!" Frank exclaimed in shock. "That can't be! Everyone up there was killed!"

"Yeah, but I wasn't up there. I was in the Hoenn region attending a meeting." Ash clarified as he grasped another food item. Just then two people entered the mess hall still singing some random song. One dressed in simple blue jeans and black shirt, whose brown hair stood out in pretty much every direction. The other was dressed in black jeans, black shirt and a sleeveless camo jacket. On his head a camo cap hid most of his brown hair. As John and Chris approached the table where Ash and Frank sat one could clearly see the enormous grins on their faces.

"Yo people!" John started. "Where are your smiles?" "Yeah, didn't you know it's time for celebrations?" Chris added. Ash just looked on in confusing, but Frank was genuinely worried. He'd never seen them act like this since he got here. John could most certainly have a happy mood, but Chris rarely laughed at all. He then saw his laptop in John's arms and remembering what he'd seen earlier in the office something on it must've caused this. He was about to ask when another person stumbled into the room.

Wearing green baggy pants, a green jacket, a green cap and fingerless green cloves Ash recognized him immediately.

"Ritchie!"

* * *

_Several days earlier…_

A large man in a red suit sat in his leather chair as he waited for someone to come in. He petted his favorite feline, a Persian, while he stared at the door. After someone knocked the door slowly crept open and Butch and Cassidy hesitantly came into the room. They knew why they were here, after failing to catch the Lavender rebels they'd also confirmed a security leak. Butch gulped as he stepped forward.

"You called for us?"

"Yes, indeed I did. Tell me, how has the search gone? Any sign of those rebels?" The man spoke.

"As usual the search turned up nothing. They covered their tracks way to well, not even our–"

"Silence! I did not call you here to hear some pitiful excuses! These rebels are being a major thorn in my side and I want them out of the picture, permanently! Do you understand!" Butch and Cassidy nodded. They knew the price of failure. "I want you two to hunt down those rebels and get rid of them by all means. You can use whatever you find necessary, but I won't pour resources in a wild goose chase. When you're sure of their location call me, and I'll send a detachment of Rockets to clear up the place. Don't goof up again, unless you want to end up as those other two losers!" Giovanni roared. "I also understand there's been a leak. Nothing too serious I hope?"

Cassidy stepped forward this time and answered. "We haven't been able to trace all their actions, but we're pretty sure they only took a list of prisoners, nothing to worry about. It's not like they'll raid a prison."

"Hm… I see. Well, go out there and do your job properly this time. I want to see results the next time we meet." Giovanni pondered Cassidy's last words for a bit. Would they really raid a prison? If they did, several threats might be set free. A prison was meant to keep people in, not out. If they raided one it might be easier than expected. He didn't ponder too long though, as he had someone else coming. A firm knock on the door pulled him away from his thoughts. Kane entered the room and stood before his boss.

"I heard the Ketchum kid got away. It's not every day that I see you fail." Giovanni said with a smirk. Kane merely grunted as he thought back to that embarrassing event. "Not that I blame you of course, after all, not all effort was wasted. You did manage to roll up the resistance movement in Pallet town afterwards."

"I only repaid the favor. They embarrassed me in front of the men; I simply put them back into place. They fought well though. But why did you call me?" Kane asked. Giovanni didn't wait long to answer with a question of his own.

"How is the chase going? Ketchum must be caught. He's too big of a threat to let him walk loose."

"I understand. We followed the trail towards Cerulean, but it took us several weeks to find out where he was hiding. After we chased him out of town the trail went cold near the Rock Tunnel. As you know that route is part of the Lavender Faction's territory. Therefore I assume he is now in the hands of the local resistance. Unless we figure out where they're hiding we can't get to him." Kane replied. Giovanni took in the information and seemed to have a hard time believing it.

"All we know is that they pulled another stunt a few days ago. They raided one of our supply depots and stole all the pokémon kept there. During the process they managed to hack our mainframe and stole several files. Do you have any suggestions? You're the tactician after all." Kane smirked at hearing this, a plan forming in his head.

"We could try to lure them out. I suggest posting several agents in the Lavender area, but they will have to keep a low profile. We don't want the resistance to know they're our agents of course. Hm… Cinnabar is still in Blaine's hands, right? What if we were to launch an attack against him? He's smart enough to know he can't take our force alone, so naturally he'd send a messenger to get help. We will trail the messenger and find the base that way. Attacking it would be suicide, so we'll wait until they come out to help their friend in need. That's when we strike. If all goes well the Faction will be mopped up, Cinnabar will be retaken and Ketchum will be captured. If approved, I'd like to lead this operation personally. Wouldn't want some grunts to mess it up, right?" Kane continued. A bold plan, but if successful, he would hold complete control over Kanto. Then he could focus on the other regions. Kane's plans usually worked fine, and with Kane himself in control, so would this one. Giovanni didn't take long to make a decision. Making Kane his right hand man had truly been a great choice. He smirked and gave his approval. As Kane turned to leave he stopped him.

"Oh and Kane, do come back in one piece. It would be a shame to lose you." After this he left. He closed the door behind him and laughed to himself. _"I have the old fool right where I want him. He follows my every lead and it's only a matter of time before his whole organization does. Then I'll have no more use for him and dispose of him. Team Rocket will be mine, and the world will follow soon."_ As he walked down the hallway laughing maniacally several grunts gave him odd looks.

* * *

_The present…_

Ash and the others had found out Ritchie was the messenger John had told Frank about. Ritchie was just about to tell them the reason of his visit.

"Blaine has informants, good ones at that. One of them told him Team Rocket is about to attack Cinnabar Island. If they do Blaine and his small group of rebels won't stand a chance, so he send me to go and get you guys. You will help, right? Please, Cinnabar is the only safe place in Kanto. If it falls, Team Rocket can turn towards the other regions!" Chris and the others listened intently. If TR did attack the other regions they'd have to be at full strength. Having a rebellion going on would certainly be bad for them. Adding the growing resistance all over Kanto and you'd find TR without the manpower to do so. They did have enough to attack Cinnabar with, however. John pulled Chris over to a corner of the room and they talked to each other, careful not to let the other hear it. As they came back Chris looked at Ritchie.

"We'll help you, but I can't spare that much myself." He turned to Ash. "If you want to go with your friend I won't stop you. They can use all the help they can get. In fact, I think I'll come. John can run the base on his own for a week or so." John, at hearing this, gave him thumbs up and grinned.

"No problem, bro! Just come back in one piece."

"Then it's settled," Ash said. "We'll go with Ritchie and beat Team Rocket away from Cinnabar."

"Yes, we leave tomorrow night. It'll be easier to avoid any stray Rockets in the dark. And we will have some time to prepare." Chris added.

* * *

_To Be Continued…

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_

**AN:** _Hey I'm surprised. Finished that way sooner then I expected. Hope you all liked the new addition. Sorry for it mainly being dialogue, but there'll be battle(s) next chapter. And maybe some more flashbacks. Surprised no one complained about their size last chapter. Over half the chapter was in italics…_

_Anyway, this is WeirdDutchGuy signing off! Reviews are still appreciated._

_WeirdDutchGuy_


	6. It Starts Well Almost

**AN:** _And here I am yet again with, hopefully, another interesting chapter of FFF. Anyway, I learned to live without my emoticons. As for Ash' Pokémon, I'll be using the team Red uses in the Gold/Silver/Crystal games. I know after Johto he goes to Hoenn, well I haven't seen the entire Hoenn journey. In fact, I've seen near to nothing of it. From the looks of things I never will either, for the only channel on Dutch TV that broadcasted Pokémon has stopped doing so. And because of that I don't have a clue as to what Pokémon he ends up with. And therefore I must improvise, which I did by using the team Red uses in the G/S games, with some adjustments. If you don't know what that team contains, read on. Well, that's pretty much all the announcements I can come up with at the time, so on to the reviews._

_Mayalah – When you get your account please give me a signed review next time so I can admire your bio. Anyway, I'm glad you find this story interesting. I hope this update was fast enough for you._

_Blackfalcon214 – I think I responded to your review already by reviewing myself, yeah. But thanks for the review again._

_Caleb – The game sounds good. I might even try it if I can find it in a shop nearby._

_Well… that's about it for the reviews. Anyway, I'm bored and need something to do, so on to the story! And don't dare say anything about the title, I couldn't think of anything.

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**Chapter Six: It Starts… Well Almost.

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**

Ash and the others were just finishing their conversation with Blaine's messenger, Ritchie. After explaining the situation Chris and John decided that the Lavender Resistance Faction would expand its turf and aid Blaine's rebels in fending off the alleged attack by Team Rocket.

"Then it's settled," Ash said. "We'll go with Ritchie and beat Team Rocket away from Cinnabar."

"Yes, we leave tomorrow night. It'll be easier to avoid any stray Rockets in the dark. And we will have some time to prepare." Chris added. And with that he turned to go after John who'd left moments earlier.

* * *

"So this is where they hide, huh?" Butch said as he watched the south exit of the Rock Tunnel. "I still don't see why we don't overrun this place right now."

"Because rushing in would result in a massacre. Not just on their side but on our side too. Besides, I'm in charge and you don't have a say." Kane said with a smirk. He knew Butch was easy to get at and he loved angering him. He also knew they were the Boss' favorites until he came and that alone was enough to make Butch boil whenever Kane was around. Cassidy never seemed to mind as she just stared at the entrance.

"He has a point Butch; just stay put and wait like he tells you to. They'll come out and then they'll be vulnerable. That's when we strike." She said, but she doubted if they could win with this little men. Why hadn't Kane brought more?

"Wrong. We don't strike at all, not until we're sure Ketchum is among them, and not until they reach Cinnabar." Kane filled in for her. That was why he didn't bring his men, because they weren't needed yet. In Cassidy's eyes this plan was stupid. Why let them reach Cinnabar? It would be harder to get at them if they did. But for now, all they could do was wait. And it didn't look like the resistance was about to show itself anytime soon.

"They're not coming out. Not until tomorrow that is. So let's go, and _Butts_, go pick up all the men." Kane said stressing the Butts part. This time Butch couldn't hold it. "IT'S BUTCH!" He yelled as he turned red with anger. Kane chuckled as he walked away. _"So easy to get at."_ He thought as Butch continued to grumble behind him. All it did was making Kane laugh louder.

* * *

Meanwhile Ash and Ritchie had spent some time talking with each other and 'F', as they knew him, to catch up on old times. When they finished Ash had gone to look for Chris and found him staring at a large table with maps spread about.

"Hey, Chris is it? What're you doing?" He asked, just to start up a conversation. He had learned from Frank that Chris mostly kept to himself, and he had set out to try and break the ice.

"Planning." Came the blunt reply. That didn't help much. "So why were you so happy just now?" Ash tried again.

"None of your business." Ash was starting to get a bit annoyed now. Only a few minutes ago Chris had been singing, and now he refused to answer simple questions. _"One last try."_

"How did you end up here anyway?" Ash desperately tried one last time.

"You're not giving up, are you?" Chris sighed. Seeing Ash shake his head out of the corner of his eye he turned to face him. "Obviously you're not. I take it you have Pokémon, so how about this: we battle and if you win I tell you everything, if I win you leave me alone. I got plenty of work to do here, so make it quick."

Ash didn't need too long to think about that. Frank had told him Chris was a great trainer. Never actually beaten, though a few ties, this would be a nice battle indeed. "You're on."

"Good, meet me at the training facilities in 15 minutes. I'll wrap this up." Chris said as he turned back towards the table. Ash walked out with a smile, feeling confident that he indeed broke the ice. At least he got a battle out of it. As he reached the main hallway he realized he had no idea where to go, so instead of searching he went back to the cafeteria and asked. Frank was happy to show him the way and they set off.

_"Oh well, it'll be a good chance to give the gym Pokémon some practice. After all, I've only been using my varied team lately."_ Chris thought as he opened a dusty cabinet. Inside laid four Pokéballs, which he picked up before closing it again. His gym being one in Lavender Town one might guess the types. As he set the balls to his belt he made his way to the training grounds.

* * *

"Is it true what you said earlier? Has he really never lost a battle?" Ash asked Frank, just to be sure.

"Yeah, and he could've been the Champion too. He went to the League once and ended third." Ash found this strange. If he ended third that would mean he lost in the semi finals, so how could he not have lost a battle before? And so he asked.

"You're right, he 'lost' a battle, but it wasn't really a loss. He forfeited because his Pokémon weren't fit enough after the last round and he wouldn't risk them being seriously injured. By the time they were fit again he had to battle for third place and won. If his Pokémon hadn't been injured before, he would've been the Champ. After that he didn't try again. Third was good enough for him and he wanted to start up his own Gym in Lavender. One week after it was approved Team Rocket attacked and burned it down. You know, I wouldn't be surprised if he used his Gym Pokémon for this battle." As Frank said this Ash was thinking, hard. If Chris used his Gym Pokémon, they would most likely be Ghost types. If so, Ash had little to counter with. Even if those Pokémon were out of practice the battle would be tough if Ash didn't play it right.

The doors to the training center opened as Ash walked in and was greeted by Chris, who was standing on one side of a field, and John, who was in the referee's spot. "Good to see you found the place. Get ready and hear the rules."

"This will be a three on three battle with no time limit. Both trainers may switch their active Pokémon between battles. The winner is the first to take out all three Pokémon of the opponent. The stakes are clear, the rules have been stated and we will now toss a coin to see who picks first. Both trainers please approach." John grinned as he took a coin from his pocket. This promised to be quite a battle. Gym Leader versus Champion.

"Heads." Chris said as he came closer. John tossed the coin up and caught it in his right hand. He then slammed his right hand on top of his left one and removed it. Heads.

"Great, just great." Chris muttered as he went back to his side. Taking his place he took out a ball. "Guess I have to start somewhere. I know it's been a while, but you're up. Go Misdreavus!"

As the Misdreavus appeared and did its battle cry, Ash was thinking about his strategy. _"A Ghost Pokémon, just as I feared. Great, I don't really have anything to fight it effectively. The only ones that can even harm it would be Pikachu and Charizard."_ As such, Ash ended up sending out Pikachu.

"Chris will fight with Misdreavus and Ash will fight with Pikachu. Oh, and before we begin, don't forget this is just a friendly match. Don't take it too far, we have a major fight coming up soon and you both need to be fit. Ok, begin!"

* * *

Meanwhile Kane was having difficulties getting Butch and Cassidy to cooperate.

"Explain why we aren't attacking now, and why we aren't going to until they reach Cinnabar." Cassidy had her doubts about this. Kane however seemed pretty confident. "Honestly, it's so simple. Even you two should be able to figure it out, but you aren't trying. See, we've been passing on information to Blaine's informant that said we were going to attack him. We even mentioned the date and time. Now Blaine, smart as he thinks he is, has asked the Lavender Faction to help and I'm positive they will. The plan is, we take Cinnabar and the Faction in one blow, instead of fighting here and there at the same time." Kane explained slowly.

"That doesn't make sense. Why let them reach full strength if we can take them now by surprise." Butch said, obviously still quite skeptic of 'the plan'. Kane sighed long in a bored way and decided he'd let them in on his real plan.

"Ok, we passed on the exact time of the attack, yes? They believe that is when we will attack, so they won't be very alert before that time. You see, they don't know we know that they know, which gives us the –" "Hold on a sec. I'm losing it here, slow down. They don't know that we know that… the heck!"

Kane growled in annoyance. "It's like this: we know that they know the exact time of our attack. They don't know we know that. Now, if we were to attack, say, a few hours before that time, we would catch them by complete surprise. They'll still be preparing defenses for an attack that isn't due for hours, or so they think. After we take Cinnabar, the Faction guys will arrive and walk straight into our arms. Or trap, really. Think of it, they'll land and walk into the city looking for Blaine, who is by then safely secured in a prison, and are jumped on by dozens of grunts. You think you understand now?" After hearing the extremely cunning and sneaky plan in its whole, Cassidy and Butch only nodded. Suddenly one of Kane's men spoke up.

"What if we haven't taken Cinnabar by the time Ketchum shows up? We'd lose our entire army." Butch cocked his eyebrow at this and retorts with a confused question. "What do you mean? This is just a fraction of our army."

"You're right, it is. He was just saying we'd lose this part of it. Get out you two." Kane interrupted. After Butch and Cassidy left he turned to the grunt. "Don't ever say such a thing in front of them. They're still loyal to that arrogant fool in his red tux. You and all the others are handpicked by me and loyal to me alone, but they aren't. The only reason they're here is because the old fool doesn't fully trust me yet and send them to keep an eye out. More slip ups like this and he'll know all about our plans. And if he does, it's over for not just me, but all of you too. And to answer your question, we'll retreat when things take too long. All of this is just to get rid off all resistance. Once those rebels are taken care off we'll focus on Giovanni, and not a minute sooner."

_"I can't afford more mistakes like this. Those two might not be the brightest, but they're not stupid either. If I don't watch it they might be a huge problem later. I have to get rid of them. Hmm… can't make them disappear without the boss noticing… They'll just have to be killed in the fight, yes, that's what I'll do. Have them disappear and tell the boss they were killed."_ After his brilliant brainstorm Kane returned to preparing the assault.

* * *

Chris returned his Misdreavus after Pikachu's last thunderbolt made it faint. Pikachu hadn't come out of the battle clean though, and was having trouble standing himself. "Go Haunter!" More ghosts. Haunter came out and just stared at Pikachu. Soon Pikachu fell asleep and Ash was baffled.

"No need to look shocked; it's just a Hypnosis attack. Haunter, finish it with Dream Eater." After Chris gave the command Haunter and Pikachu started glowing and the glow around Pikachu made its way to Haunter. It didn't look like Pikachu would be waking up soon so Ash got Charizard out.

"Start off with a Flamethrower!" Ash yelled and soon a large amount of flames shot towards Haunter, who dodged with ease. "He's too fast! I need to find a way to slow him down, or trap him." Meanwhile Chris had ordered Haunter to use Nightshade and Charizard was busy dodging the black rays shooting from its eyes.

"Try using Fire Spin! Then when it's trapped, use Flamethrower again!" "Not going to work Ash, Haunter Shadow Ball!" Both Pokémon fired their attacks at their trainer's order, with the Fire Spin trapping Haunter and the Shadow Ball hitting Charizard. Charizard, despite being in pain, shot his Flamethrower at Haunter, who had no chance of escape.

"Haunter is no longer fit for battle. Charizard wins." John said, pointing his arm in Ash's direction.

"You put up a good fight Ash," Chris said whilst recalling Haunter. "But it's not enough. Go Gengar!"

"Charizard, return. I'll let you rest for a while and hope it'll be long enough. Alright, Wartortle go!" Ash sent out Wartortle. After picking up Charizard at the Valley, he went to pick up Squirtle but learned he'd evolved into Wartortle not to long ago.

"I know what you plan on doing Ash, trying to save Charizard for later. I'm not stopping you, but I'm making sure you aren't switching this one out. Gengar, use Mean Look!" Chris had to admit he was enjoying himself. He had missed the thrill of battle. "Now, use the Hypnosis Nightmare combo!"

"Wartortle don't look him in the eyes and use Water Gun to stop him!" Gengar took a direct hit from the attack and staggered back.

"Let's try a different approach, use Night Shade!" Wartortle dodged. "Again!" He dodged again. "This is getting annoying. Use Confuse Ray!" Gengar shot an orb of light at Wartortle, who tried to dodge but found the orb was following him. It caught him in midair and he fell down flat on his face.

"Good, now Shadow Ball!" As Gengar charged his attack Ash tried to get Wartortle to move. Gengar fired and it was closing in fast.

"Jump up, now!" Ash yelled in a frantic attempt to save Wartortle. He jumped alright, but when he landed he fell again, still confused by the ray. Gengar shot another Shadow Ball and this time it hit its mark.

"Wartortle is no longer fit for battle, Gengar wins!" John stated. Out came Charizard again.

"Charizard, Flamethrower!" Ash yelled. He had to win this battle if he wanted to know what had happened.

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_To Be Continued...

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**AN:** _Here is the next chapter in my story. I hope you all enjoyed reading and I hope you will enjoy reviewing No flashback in it, sorry. But I promise more about the past will be revealed soon. Kane is evil, right? Perhaps mad even. Now I'm off, for school starts again and I kind of forgot about some homework... all homework, really._

_WeirdDutchGuy_


	7. Tormenting Memories, Part One

**AN:** _I know, I said I learned to live without them, but I used one in the ending note of the last chapter (I'm talking about the smiley faces of course). I can't help it, they come out automatically! Really! Fine, don't believe me then. Anyway, I hope you don't forget to review at the end. Speaking of reviews,_

_Story Weaver1 – Thank you for the review! It is clever, huh. Glad you liked the battles; I put extra effort in them._

_Soft Flame Matthias – Yay! A new reader! Sorry about the cliffhangers, but you guys wouldn't keep coming back for more if I don't put them at the end. They are in quite a mess, I guess. Mwhahahaha! I evilness. But believe it or not, I have a heart. I read your story, and it is good! You're right, we do mature and I can't say I don't like the mushy stuff. I'd write it myself if I was any good at it. I'm waiting for the update to your other story now._

_Caleb – Glad you like 'the plan'; I thought it up myself (kind of obvious, I write the story)._

_Blackfalcon214 – Could you send me your grammar check then, because mine didn't show any grammar errors. I like the shower of compliments. Glad you find things interesting, though the outcome of the battle might surprise you. But I'd like to know who you thought would win, even though I can make a fairly good guess._

_AriNekoGoMu – Did I get your name right? Anyway, sorry about the cliffy's, they kind of come out automatically. For some reason I cannot write a chapter without a cliffhanger at the end… Oh well, I guess it makes you lot come back._

_I also kind of changed stuff in the first chapter seeing it was the only one without rulers and stuff. I should've done it sooner, but I couldn't really be asked. Did it now and I got rid of the coz's while I was at it Joy-girl! I didn't rewrite the whole thing because it would take too long and you guys would have to wait longer for this update… I caught myself putting in another smiley there… and again! What is wrong with me! (It's a reflex from using MSN for so long, I put those  :s  at the end of such sentences)_

_Now that we got that out of the way, it's time to read. For you at least, I have to write it.

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**Chapter Seven: Tormenting Memories, Part One.

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_"Wartortle is no longer fit for battle, Gengar wins!" John stated. Out came Charizard again. Last chapter Ash and Chris had started their battle and now both are down to their last Pokémon._

_"Charizard, Flamethrower!" Ash yelled. He had to win this battle if he wanted to know what had happened. With the stakes clear, Ash is determined to win, but so seems Chris._

"Ok Gengar, let's wrap this up quick. Dodge and use your Night Shade attack!" Chris had to win too, because if he didn't he'd have to tell Ash everything. That, considering they only had a day to prepare, might take a bit too long. That in turn required Chris to be social, a skill that had been deteriorating since this war started.

After several attacks both trainers started to become a bit agitated. So far not one had managed a good hit.

"I think it's time for a different approach. Gengar hide!" Gengar, knowing what this meant, sank into the floor. This was a tactic they had barely ever resorted to. Chris knew it was a tiny bit unfair, but he wasn't going to let Ash win and he smirked because he knew what was coming next. Ash didn't.

"That's unfair! Charizard can't sink through the floor! Or fly through walls for that matter! And isn't it against the rules to leave the battlefield?" Ash tried to get John to show some sympathy.

"Gengar hasn't left, he's just invisible. I'll show you," Chris started and waited for Charizard to land. "Now! Shadow Punch!" Immediately Gengar shot up from Charizard's shadow and punched him square on the jaw. While Charizard roared and reeled back from the blow Gengar sank into the floor again. Ash looked on bewildered as the process started to repeat itself. Charizard started flaming the ground on which he stood to try and hit Gengar, but only managed to burn his own feet. But Ash was seeing a pattern here, Gengar always came from a shadow. Something clicked.

"Charizard fly up and hover in the centre of the room!" He ordered and Charizard did as he was told. Chris quickly realized his intentions. If Charizard stayed airborne, his shadow would be on the ground, so Gengar had to travel more to hit. Charizard would easily be able to blast him from the sky.

"Very clever Ash, normally I win by the time they figure it out." Chris said as his smirk disappeared and he clenched his fists. He should've seen this coming. _"Note to self: the Shadow strategy doesn't work on Pokémon that fly, why didn't I know that!"_ At least it hadn't been a complete waste. Gengar wasn't hit and Charizard was hit numerous times. Even now that Ash found out his strategy he pretty much won already.

"So yeah, good job to you. But now it ends, Gengar use Shadow Ball!"

* * *

"Listen up Oak, I'm not known for my gentleness, but I know my boss is even worse. You can either tell me what I want to know now, or we can wait for my boss to show up. When he's through with you we'll be having trouble to stop you from talking." Gary kept his mouth shut. The grunt was clearly getting agitated. He hadn't opened his mouth once since his capture and it had left most of his 'interrogators' furious. His current situation was hopeless; chained to the ceiling with his hands pulled up just high enough to not let him sit, but low enough for every body part to be within striking range.

"Look mister, my boss is coming along soon for some answers. If I can't give him answers because of your stubbornness, he'll get really pissed. And when he does, he'll take it out on you. Now I don't know about you, but I sure wouldn't like to be on the receiving end of his anger! Tell me where Brock Slate is hiding, or we'll beat it out of you!" Gary knew these threats weren't empty; they really would try to beat it out. They've been trying to since he was caught. Gary silently cursed Kane and his men for practically razing Pallet Town in search of his group.

Suddenly there was commotion in the hallway. The key to the door was turned and in walked three Rockets. Two normal ones and one wearing grey instead of the normal black. The current interrogator saluted and Kane glared at him with a look that said 'well?' The grunt stammered for words.

"I-I eh… he won't talk… sir." Kane gave a disappointed sigh and motioned the grunt to leave the room. He then turned to Gary with a sad expression.

"I really hoped you wouldn't make this so hard on yourself, mister Oak. But have it your way, it seems my own interrogation skills are required here. I just hope you aren't going for a record; the longest anyone has lasted would be six hours. I know you'd be able to break that, but you wouldn't have much of a body left by then." Kane really did hope Gary wouldn't go for a record, though not for Gary's sake of course. He didn't have very long before his little attack on Cinnabar Island and he wanted to be there himself. He just felt a little bored and decided to see if things had progressed here. Not surprisingly he was let down again. After muttering something about 'incompetent grunts' Kane left the room with orders to prepare Gary for a 'proper' interrogation.

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"Counter it with Flamethrower!" Ash ordered. Chris was surprised Charizard's speed had hardly dropped, even after all those hits. The flames made short work of the black ball but failed to hit Gengar, again.

"That attack is getting old Ash, come up with something new!" Chris said while a sigh escaped his lips. He was serious; not once had he seen Ash order anything but Flamethrower.

"Who cares, it works doesn't it?" Ash muttered under his breath. He then turned to Chris. "Yeah, well you haven't been really original lately. It's all Shadow Ball, Nightshade 'n Shadow Punch from your side."

"Well that's three attacks Ash, you use one. But if you want a new one that badly…" Chris said with a smirk and a mischievous look. "Who am I to hold it from you? Say Gengar, I say it's time for our secret weapon!"

Right after that Gengar's eyes glowed blue with psychic energy. It didn't take long for Charizard's body to start glowing as well. Charizard roared in pain as he got slammed into the floor and ceiling time and time again. Ah yes, the wonders of TMs.

"A Gengar that knows Psychic!" Ash blurted out, but he regained himself and decided to stick to the same strategy as they had used on Haunter. "Quick Charizard, use Fire Spin!" Charizard picked himself up from the ground and looked around to find Gengar. But Gengar was gone. Suddenly he reappeared behind Charizard and tried to punch him in the back, but Charizard had expected this and rolled with the punch shrugging off most of the blow. Gengar found himself directly in front of Charizard's mouth, who wasted no time and let out that Fire Spin.

At point blank range Chris knew Gengar had no hope of dodging, so now it was time for damage control. _"This has to end soon, or Gengar's a sitting duck. Ash will most likely have him use another Flamethrower, so I'll have to beat him to it and have Gengar use Shadow Ball now that Charizard's still on the ground."_

_"Ok he's pinned down, the perfect opportunity. I guess I'll have Charizard use Flamethrower – no wait, Chris will expect that. And Gengar might not be immobile for long."_

"Gengar," "Charizard," Both trainers started. "Shadow Ball!" "Blast Burn!" They yelled simultaneously. Both were stunned, Ash had used a different move and Chris had made no attempt at dodging or defending. As the Pokémon fired their attacks, still quite close to one another, a huge explosion was triggered. As the smoke cleared Ash and Chris stared at the field with wide open eyes.

"It's… a draw? Both Pokémon are unable to battle, this match ends in a draw!" John exclaimed as he found his voice. Ash was disappointed he only managed a draw and continued to stare with his eyes and mouth wide open. Chris on the other hand was agitated he had come this close to losing, though he had to admit Ash was pretty good. Ok, so maybe he was very good, but this match should've been his anyway.

"Ash, close it. You did very well there. That's my tenth draw already." Chris said as he reluctantly offered Ash his hand. Ash quickly closed his mouth and shook the extended hand. "Well, since it is a draw, what happens now? We didn't really discuss that, did we?"

"We could," Ash started. "We could both tell what happened to us up till now. That way you won't be the only one explaining." Though Chris didn't like the fact he'd be talking at all, he figured it was better than being the only one. And so the four of them made their way to the cafeteria, John and Frank congratulating Ash on his… draw.

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"Still nothing? You are a stubborn one indeed. But you will break eventually." Kane hissed as he eyed Gary's bruised body. He'd beaten the guy, tried burning him, partially drowning him, stretching him, basically, he tried every trick in the book and the guy still refused to talk. Not only was that, but the time it took was also getting on Kane's nerves. He had to be back in Pallet in time to plan the attack more thoroughly. This was taking too long. Obviously this Gary wouldn't give in to physical beating, so it was time to try some psychological warfare.

"On second thought, get him out of my sight. Just take him outside and shoot him or something." Kane growled. The grunts that were still in the room were all stunned. In fact, stunned would be a light expression for their state at that moment. As far as they knew, Kane never gave up. Gary smirked, but that was barely noticeable. The important thing was that he hadn't talked.

"And make his sister and grandfather watch it." Kane continued with a sick smirk, causing Gary's to dissipate. Oh yes, how beautiful, playing on his guilt feeling. "Or maybe we should turn things around. Kill them and make you watch!" Kane said to Gary, now smirking from ear to ear. He knew Gary wouldn't mind to die in front of his family very much, but his family dieing in front of him was a different question. Doubt was in his eyes and it told Kane that it was time to rub it in.

"Yes, go get his family and line them up outside. And bring him." He said pointing at Gary and he marched for the door.

"Wait!" Gary couldn't believe that word just left his mouth. Kane stopped and turned with a questioning look on his face. Gary sighed while his head hung low.

"I'll never forget myself for this, but I'll tell you…" Kane's expression turned into a sinister smile, which was soon copied by the grunts in the room.

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Ash had started out with his story and was currently at the part where he arrived in Pallet Town.

"And when I finally made it to my front door Team Rocket appeared. One of them wasn't really like any others. He had this grey uniform and the others seemed to look up to him. He said they'd been waiting and that he had my mom. I think his name was Kane." Ash stopped when Chris and John tensed at the mentioning of Kane.

"You know him?" He asked and John just nodded while Chris bared his teeth and frowned.

"Yeah, you could say we met before." Chris said as his eyes glazed over and he seemed to recall earlier events. John shook him out of it and motioned for Ash to continue.

"Well, he challenged me to a battle, surprisingly a fair one too. We didn't get to finish 'cause the Pallet resistance scared them off. Gary offered me to stay, but I wanted to check on some friends of mine and see if I could find out where they took my mom. So I set off for Pewter, but I just had to run into some Rockets in the forest. Not a big deal, but they knew where I was heading now. Anyway, I got to Pewter and all buildings seemed to be undamaged, as if nobody had fought back when Team Rocket showed up."

"That's true. There was no fighting in Pewter. I believe its Gym Leader evacuated the city before they got there and let the people return after things settled down a bit. I don't have a clue where he went though. Team Rocket's been trying to catch him since." John interrupted.

"Really? Brock's still alive and free? That's great!" Ash exclaimed with a big smile.

"It's good to see I'm not the only one who keeps seeing the bright side of things." John couldn't help but say, earning a confused look from Ash and an annoyed one from Chris. "I'll explain sometime. But for now, continue please."

"Um… so Pewter was still standing, but I had to move on. After all, I was being pursued by an army of grunts. I figured going through Mount Moon might be too predictable, so I went around it instead. That was a big mistake. It took me days to get to the other side, because I kept running into Rockets along the way. Not that they saw me, but I had to go around them too. That is, until Kane was with one of the groups. I don't know how he knew I was coming this way, but he did. We didn't really fight, but man, Psychic attacks hurt!" Ash said as he involuntarily grabbed his arm, which had been badly bruised after crashing into a rock. Chris almost went into flashback mode again, but John punched him on the arm. Ash meanwhile continued.

"Somehow I made it to Cerulean City and went straight for the Gym. Not one brick was standing where it should be. And there was no trace of my friend." At these last words Ash' face fell. Oblivious to this John interrupted again.

"Yup, the sisters fought back. Those Rockets didn't leave a brick untouched. They did get quite a few, but in the end the sisters ran out of Pokémon to fight with and they didn't have guns, so they had no choice but to surrender." He explained.

"All sisters? All four of them?" Ash asked, afraid of the answer.

"Yes, all of them, but why would you ask? Oh, I remember now. One of them was your traveling partner! I remember seeing her on the stands when you were fighting in the League! And Slate was too! Man, you traveled with two Gym Leaders, no wonder you grew so strong so fast. But I'm keeping you from your story."

"There's not much left to tell really, nurse Joy found me a hiding place to rest up and let my bruises heal. That lasted a week or so before she came crashing in yelling at me to leave as fast as I could. Kane's men had come into the city and were searching every house. In the commotion I accidentally took a wrong turn and ended up at the Rock Tunnel instead of Saffron. Heh, I guess I got lucky there." Ash finished his story as he scratched the back of his head. "So it's your turn now."

"I guess so." Chris said as he got ready. But before he could start John pulled him out by his arm and asked Ash if he'd wait a minute. As they got in the corridor he turned to Chris with a worried look.

"Bro, are you sure you're up for this? Don't think I didn't see that look in your eyes whenever he mentioned that bastard." He said sternly as he watched Chris in his eyes. "Look, we'll get him back someday, but right now you need to keep your act together."

"I'll be fine. I know we'll get him, but even if it was today it wouldn't be soon enough. He deserves nothing less than death for what he did." Chris said as he pulled himself free from his twin's grasp. John didn't buy it and grabbed him again as he went past.

"Kane!" He said and watched the reaction. Chris growled as he frowned at John, but his expression soon softened as his eyes got a far away look. John just shook his head as he jerked his brother's shoulders.

"You are not up for this. I'll tell the story; you just go back to your maps or something." He said as he thought hard _"Man, I know Chris still blames himself for what happened, but this is ridiculous! He shouldn't think about the past like that, not to the point of daydreams. The past has gone and cannot be changed, no matter how often you think it over. Why won't he see that!"_

"That was a low blow John! I'll get even for this, but for now, have things your way. I'll just go get some more training in, since I was in the middle of it when I got interrupted." Chris smirked. _"I need to get control over this. I can't let these memories torment me forever. Kane must pay!"

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Kane smirked as they dragged Gary out of the room. So Slate was on Cinnabar. That just made his job a whole lot easier. Soon everyone he was after would be in the same place. Then he'd take care to get rid of them all and nothing would remain in his way to stop him from carrying out his master plan. Giovanni would see things his way, as usual, and walk right into his trap. He'd then take control of Team Rocket and sweep through the other regions. Soon the nation would be his and the next step would be the world. And if, by some miracle, they'd put up a decent fight on Cinnabar… he'd have some trump cards. Being an evil genius could be so satisfying.

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_To Be Continued…

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**AN:** _I am truly very sorry for taking well over a month to update this story. I hope the increasing length of my chapters is somewhat softening your rightful feeling of annoyance and perhaps anger towards me. I chopped this one up since I wanted to upload something after all this while and the next part isn't done yet. And it was getting long (5 pages in Word is long, ok?). But it'll be getting to the good parts soon (ehm… that almost makes it seem as if I plan this ahead, yet I don't). Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter, though I must admit it is dark at parts and maybe a bit confusing with the psychological problems Chris seems to have. Don't worry too much about that, I promise they'll be explained next chapter and there is a good reason for them too. But for now, Review please! I'm off; school is unforgivable when it comes to people being late…that, and being late for a German test is bad for my grade._

_WeirdDutchGuy_


	8. Tormenting Memories, Part Two

**AN:** _Ugh… it took me long enough to start on this chapter. Some personal matters clouded my mind for a while so nothing sensible made its way onto the screen. Sorry about that, but I'm back now. Back without having school to worry about. That's right; I have 9 weeks of spare time! Summer holidays rock!_

_AriNekoGoMu – Guess it does mean you're staying. Thanks for the review, it was appreciated._

_Story Weaver1 – Yes, Gary has a sister. At least if you take the games into account. Her name differs in the games though. As far as I can remember in the first set she was called Mary, but in the more recent edition (Fire Red and Leaf Green) she's called Daisy. On the other hand, if you go only by the anime Gary doesn't appear to have any family apart from professor Oak. They just don't show. So even if you chose the anime as guideline, you could just make her up… I came up with the shadow strategy when reading the description of Shadow Punch: The user throws a punch from the shadows, it cannot be evaded. I simply stuck to that, only I made it so that it can be evaded when you aren't around any shadows (the user can't reach you then)._

_Well, I've done enough ranting and explaining for now. You might not like the note I'm making at the end of the chapter.

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Chapter Eight: Tormenting Memories, Part Two.

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Kane smirked as they dragged Gary out of the room. So Slate was on Cinnabar. That just made his job a whole lot easier. Soon everyone he was after would be in the same place. Then he'd take care to get rid of them all and nothing would remain in his way to stop him from carrying out his master plan. Giovanni would see things his way, as usual, and walk right into his trap. He'd then take control of Team Rocket and sweep through the other regions. Soon the nation would be his and the next step would be the world. And if, by some miracle, they'd put up a decent fight on Cinnabar… he'd have some trump cards. Being an evil genius could be so satisfying. 

He made his way to the exit and into his car. The driver poked his head out from behind his seat with a questioning face. "To Pallet and step on it, we've wasted enough time here."

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"Ok, I guess it's time for our story then." John said as he sat down and tried to recall what he knew. Ash was listening with great interest, partly because it was his job now and partly because he might hear something about his friends.

"Where to start… I'll leave out the details about our journey and all and get straight to the takeover if you don't mind. Well, with us living in Lavender, where Team Rocket had been quite active before the attack we kind of got wind of something big. We didn't know exactly what they were planning, but activity just increased tenfold, so to speak. They were hauling supplies and weapons all over the place and stole powerful Pokémon instead of rare ones like they used to do. That put us on alert and Chris was just getting his gym up and running so it added to the strain. Then the first newsflashes about Team Rocket attacks started coming in. Not long after those reports came flooding in. It appeared Team Rocket had attacked multiple targets in rapid succession. By the time the news started the League was crippled, Cerulean was under attack, Celadon was taken, Pewter was evacuated, Saffron was under siege, Vermillion was getting stampeded, Viridian was burning and Rockets were closing in on us and Fuchsia." Now even John had to admit recalling all this was pretty hard on one's wellbeing, and he hadn't even come to the hardest part yet. The others present just sat tight and listened.

"Things went pretty smooth in Pewter. The Gym leader there, Brock I think it was, got everybody out before the main Rocket forces came in. That went without a hitch. Viridian was where their base was, so taking that wasn't too hard, even after the police started fighting back. In Cerulean they fought back initially after gathering as many trainers as they could find, but after several casualties on the defending side they surrendered. Saffron was a hard nut to crack, but being in the center isn't very good as you can be attacked from pretty much everywhere. They just circled the city and started pressing the defenders back gradually. After they were pushed back into the Gym the Rockets threatened to blow it up if they didn't surrender. They surrendered, but Sabrina was nowhere to be found." He paused a minute to let it all sink in before he continued.

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_"Damn that Kane. Why did he have to come up? Why did he have to be involved? Now I can't get him out of my mind."_ Chris watched the battles in front of him. Pairing up his Arcanine with his Golduck had proven to be good training for his Arnanine. Amazingly he could now hold his own against his weakness. Golduck hadn't been too thrilled though; there wasn't much training in it for him.

_"I wonder what Kane has to do with all of this. If he did plan the attack he wouldn't be stupid enough to let it leak. That leaves two possibilities. He has nothing to do with the attack on Cinnabar, or he let it leak on purpose…"_ Chris recalled his Pokémon; training wouldn't work while he was thinking like this. No, he had to get his mind off of the latest developments. It didn't do him much good, as pictures of the past, namely pictures of the attack on Lavender Town, started to fill his head. He shook it wildly to get them out, but in the back of his mind he knew there was only one way to get rid of them. So he set course for the cafeteria.

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The car stopped in front of a large building. The building used to be the lab of the renowned professor Samuel Oak, but now it was used as a base of operations, the staging site for the attack on the island several miles off shore. Numerous tents were set up on the fields surrounding the structure. Fields that were once used to air the Pokémon the professor took care of. The driver stepped out and opened the backdoor to let out his boss. Kane stepped out and looked around the camp site with a pleased smile on his face. So far everything had gone according to his plan. His men had leaked to Blaine's informant and tracked the messenger to a surprising discovery. The base of his main enemy was in the Rock Tunnel, something he hadn't thought of. Not that it mattered much now, because his latest plan would get all birds with one stone.

"Tell all squad captains to meet me in the briefing room in ten minutes. We'll go through the final plan and make sure everybody knows what to do and when. I will not allow anyone to screw this up, understood?" He said to the saluting grunt at the door of the building. The man nodded before speeding off into the camp to find said captains. Kane walked through the rooms until he came to the briefing room. Here he would go through his plan one more time. Unfortunately the Boss had insisted that Butch and Cassidy be part of the attacking force. This fitted his plan to some extend, as he wanted to rid himself of them, but it meant he couldn't freely speak in front of his men. This was the last step he had to take before seizing control and accomplish what the fool in his tux could not. In a sense he was loyal to Team Rocket, yes, but the incompetence annoyed him greatly. Had he been the boss the world would be at his mercy right now, but he wasn't and it stung. He would complete Team Rocket's legacy and take control of the world, but he would have to take out Giovanni, the current leader, to be successful.

"Good day gentlemen. I assume you know how important the battle ahead is to our cause? We must not lose the battle for Cinnabar Island; it is the only obstacle that remains in our path to full domination of the Kanto region. Let's go over the plan one more time." Kane started as the room finished filling with officers. To his annoyance the two watchdogs had also made an appearance.

"Now, we leaked that the attack would take place at noon, which is twelve o' clock mid day for the mentally challenged. Of course, we won't stick to that time, as it would probably result in getting ambushed. Instead, we will use the night to our advantage and get as close as we can to the island. Then we will attack at dawn, the instant the first rays of the sun shoot over the horizon. That way, we'll have enough light to see what we're doing whilst using the element of surprise to the greatest extend." He paused and waited until everyone had nodded or made some other sign of understanding.

"Also it means we'll have no fixed time of attack, since the sun doesn't bind itself to our clocks. That should make it even harder for them to predict the time of our attack. Yes, I'm not assuming they'll believe the information we leaked as I know they are no fools. But we will make it as hard as possible for them to predict our moves." Now he moved them over to the large table in the center of the room. On it stood a 3D scaled down version of Cinnabar Island, incredibly detailed and lifelike. There were also movable pieces representing rebel forces, Rockets and even the Lavender Faction fighters. "Now, as for the battle plan itself…"

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John had just finished telling about the secret Team Rocket base in Celadon, and how that helped them win the battle swiftly. He was just about to start telling of the attack on Lavender Town when Chris walked back in. The look on John's face was priceless as he was about to protest, but Chris cut him off.

"I'll tell them what happened here. Don't try to stop me or but in." He said, the determined look on his face adding more to John's confusion. It did save him from the hardest part though, but he wasn't so sure if his brother could manage. Up to this day he wasn't sure what it was that made him so angry yet sad at the same time whenever Kane was brought up. The conflicting emotions usually shut him off from the outside world, like he was reliving those moments in a dream.

"You wanted to know how we knew Kane, right?" This was directed at Ash, who only nodded. "He was the leading Rocket in the attacking force. That's how." This caused John to instantly pay attention. He'd never heard this part before. Sure, they had met Kane before, but he never knew Kane led the attack here.

"After all the attacks on the other cities, our dad tried to send John and me away. He said they'd stall the Rockets so we could live. John pulled me out of the house and we started running for the mountains, but then we heard gunshots and I wouldn't have it anymore. I ran back into the town and hid behind a wall as I watched the battles take place in the streets. Most trainers were stronger than the Rockets, but their sheer numbers made that up and it was a losing cause. Most of the time it was two or even three on one and I almost stepped in right then. But that's when something else caught my eye. Dad was fighting Kane head to head and surprisingly none of the grunts interfered. They talked too, but it was pretty far away and I only caught shards of sentences, but I could tell Kane was asking where I was. I was after all the official Gym leader and capturing or killing those was a high priority to the attackers. Dad started losing and I could see Kane was only using type advantages, so in a way he was still fighting dirty." Chris was looking quite angry now, gritting his teeth and raising his voice slightly. Somehow, John felt the worst was yet to come.

_Flashback_

_"Is your son too weak to fight his own battles, Fuji?"_

"I have to get closer for a better look." _Chris thought as he crawled along the wall. Kane's taunts and threats became clearer now that he came close enough._

_"Come now Fuji, surely you can do better than that. How do you expect to stall time when you fight like this? I'll catch up with your boys in no time at all, hahahahaha!" Kane continued to laugh as his Slowbro got ready to extinguish the flame of the Charmeleon who lay barely conscious in front of Chris's father, in no shape to dodge. Defeated, Chris's father recalled his Charmeleon and glared at Kane for almost killing his Pokémon friend._

_"Oh, giving up? And that was your last one too, wasn't it. Well, spill the beans! Where did you send your boys! Or do you want to face your maker prematurely!" Kane smirked as he pulled a pistol out and cocked it. This made Chris's blood boil, but he knew there was nothing he could do._

_"Is that a threat, Rocket! Go pack, you're not getting me to tell on my boys!" Was the reply which only angered Kane even more. Not a good thing in the current situation._

_"Your courage is misplaced, Fuji. If you think I don't have the guts to do you in, you're sadly mistaking!" Kane yelled before pointing his gun at the chest area. "Now tell me!"_

"No! Dad, get out of there!"_ Chris screamed in his mind as his eyes widened in shock, but his father couldn't hear it. Instead his father stood firm and glared at Kane with nothing but determination in his eyes before spreading his arms out wide._

_"Never! Shoot me if you must, but you won't get anything out of a dead body! My boys will live and they'll fight and win!" Chris couldn't watch anymore and turned his head just as the gunshot rang. The bang and Kane's laughter was all that filled his mind while he ran away as fast as he could. Away from the scene he knew would haunt him until Kane paid._

_End Flashback_

He fought back the tears that almost slipped after he finished. Somewhere it felt good to finally spill it, but he wouldn't be seen crying. He glanced at John, who looked back almost hurt. He probably should've told him sooner, but every time he tried he couldn't.

"You have your answers John, and you have your story Ash. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a battle to plan." Chris said before silently walking out of the cafeteria. Ash looked about ready to apologize for even asking him to tell what happened, but he just walked out not wanting to hear it.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know…" Ash said to John instead.

"You're not the only one who didn't know. Damn it Chris, you could've at least told me!" John cursed under his breath.

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"Do you all understand what your part is?" All present nodded. "Good, then it's about time you go and fill in your men. Dismissed!" Kane looked on as his captains left the room to prepare for their parts. Butch and Cassidy also left the room and he smirked at what he knew. They wouldn't be returning.

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_To Be Continued…

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AN:** _I am very sorry for taking this long, but I had a severe case of writer's block. Now it has been lifted, so I hope you enjoyed this chapter which I wrote in about one afternoon. I'm going strong again, but alas, it won't last. Next week I leave my cozy home for France and I won't be seen for at least three weeks from then. I suppose I need the Rest & Relaxation and probably won't be able to check, but I would be grateful if you all Read & Reviewed. I will see you all again in about 4 to 5 weeks, so until then this is me signing off._

_WeirdDutchGuy_


	9. Setting Sail

**AN:** _About time huh, yeah, I took long enough. France was nice but I took a bit too much sun and I'm feeling the price every time I lay down on something. Two words for those who visit warm sunny countries: sunblock!_

_Anyway, as I planned I got off to a start on this chapter, only to succumb to the relaxation a vacation is for and stop writing after I merely got half a page done. Dang._

_Story Weaver1 – Well, you're the only one to review. I do wonder what happened to the others. Thanks anyway. Meh, I'll get the story going now._

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Chapter Nine: Setting Sail.

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_"I don't even know if it really is Kane who's planning this attack. Sure, it all bears his mark except the leaking of the date and time of the attack. Would he purposely leak that? And if so, why?"_ Ever since the storytelling Chris had been wandering through the corridors of the base. He'd been thinking about Kane at first but now he was seeking ways of connecting Kane to the impending attack on Cinnabar Island. But it just didn't make sense. He stranded every time when he reached Blaine's informant. The reason was simple: the guy, or girl, just didn't have access to Kane or his troops, so unless Kane wanted him/her to know he/she couldn't. 

_"Unless he wanted Blaine to know… who would surely call for help and if they just followed the messenger… Kane, you are one cunning bastard! But why the date and time! Just the threat of an attack, any attack, could get this effect."_ And again his thoughts stranded. Trying to pick them up again, Chris failed to see the door opening in time and walked right into it. As he grunted and grabbed his nose he glared at the door waiting for the culprit to show himself.

"Whoops, sorry! Huh? Chris! I was looking for you, why did you run off like that! Hell, why didn't you tell me what happened!" John's surprise quickly changed to anger once he realized who he just slammed into.

"Give it a rest John." Chris sighed. He really needed a distraction. He needed something to take his mind off of things.

"I had as much right to know what happened as you! You should've told me!" John pressed on.

"I said give it a rest! It was hard enough seeing it, but reliving it just now… Now he's stuck in my head." After the outburst John wisely decided to stop pushing, not to mention his curiosity getting the better of him again.

"Who, Kane? It helps letting it go you know. Stop worrying about it. There's nothing you could do." He said as he tried to show he cared.

"That's not it. It's just… I keep trying to see connections that aren't there. Somehow I'm firmly convinced he's behind this attack on Cinnabar. But it doesn't make sense. Why the time?" Either Chris failed to notice his brother's attempt, or he was just too preoccupied with his thoughts.

"It's quite easy really; whoever is planning this likes to know when everything's going to happen. That's all." John's words set off a new thought wave.

"You know, that's not such a bad reason. Kane knows we know the time, so he'll think we'll show up just before that time. That way he'll have a rough estimate of when we arrive. That means the time doesn't mean a thing, and I have a feeling he'll be waiting for us. John, that attack could be happening right now!" He'd found his link, but was shocked at this new insight nonetheless. They'd have to hurry.

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The loading of the ships went along schedule, the men were ready and everything was planned out to even the minutest detail. Kane was sure nothing could go wrong now. By the end of the next day he would've rid himself of the three biggest threats and all that would remain in his way would be Giovanni. That was an obstacle easily taken. Inwardly he was cheering, though it only showed as a small smile on the outside. He peered out over the beach where about a dozen high speed assault ships were being prepared to set sail.

"Sir, the Boss is on the phone. He wants to know how we're doing." Kane nodded to the grunt and went for the nearest vid-phone. Giovanni's face appeared on the small screen as he picked up the horn.

"Well Kane, how are things going? Nothing unexpected happened yet?" He knew what his Boss was aiming at. He'd only failed once and already he was talked to as if he was incompetent. This only made him long stronger for the moment that he would kick that fool out of his office. However, for now he'd have to play along.

"No, everything's going just fine. At this rate we might even be early. I assure you nothing can go wrong. I've accounted for every possibility. I even thought of the fact they might show up early. There is nothing to worry about."

"Very well then, proceed." And with that the phone was hung up. Kane looked about ready to tear the thing apart. "How dare he think this might go wrong! This isn't even half as big as the original takeover and that went without a hitch. I'll show him, right after we take Cinnabar I'll show him!" His good mood was instantly blown away. The grunt was still standing there. "Well? What are you waiting for, get back to work! We need all that stuff loaded before nightfall!"

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Inside the Rock Tunnel everybody was gathered in the Cafeteria, it being the biggest public place available. Chris and John hadn't wasted time and ordered the meeting right away. Since they'd been planning to arrive at Cinnabar somewhere around ten or eleven in the morning nobody had been doing any packing yet. The discovery that the attack could start at any given time had caused Chris to overhaul the entire plan. They would depart as soon as possible. As Chris and John stood up on a table the room quieted down.

"Guys, we have a problem. That attack we heard about isn't going to occur at noon at all. For all we know, it could be happening right now." John's words sent a wave of murmurs and whispers across the small crowd. "I know this isn't how we planned it, but we're leaving ASAP. I suggest that those that'll be coming with us spend their remaining time with their family. There's no telling what we'll find there and I can't promise all of us will come back in one piece." Chris said now. More murmurs, louder ones. "In the mean time, the rest of you will prepare whatever forms of transport we have! That means we need every large bird type we can get and strong water types to pull our rafts!" John had to raise his voice slightly to make himself clear over the noise.

Ash had heard everything. "I'm coming with you." He said the moment Chris and John walked through the door. "Fine, we need all the help we can get." Chris mumbled as he kept walking. Kane. It had been a while since he last faced him. He wondered if Kane had changed any of his battle strategies. He wondered how Kane would fight in a large battle such as this one. He'd never had to face him on such a large scale before. There would be many fights going on, firefights and Pokémon battles. Chris and his group had never fought an open battle before. Always small scale actions and always with the element of surprise. They'd have none of that now; this was an all out war.

"Have you ever fired a gun before?" John asked Ash as he led him to the shooting range. After Chris headed to his room to revise his plans he figured he should show Ash how to use a firearm. Seeing how Ash shook his head John pulled a pistol out of a large closet. Opposite of the closet was a firing range, with targets attached to the wall at the back. He loaded the weapon and showed Ash the safety pin. "If this is still on, the gun is useless. But you should keep it on if you're not using the gun, even if you might have to rely on it later. With the pin off the gun could fire if it bumps into something. Because it is usually pointed at some part of your body when holstered the gun firing is something you don't want. Now, as this is a semi-automatic taking the pin off and loading the weapon is all you need to do before firing. When it runs out you reload and that's it." John said as he demonstrated the motions required. He then pointed the gun at the far wall and fired a shot at one of the targets before unloading the pistol and putting the safety back on.

"Now you try it." John handed the gun over to Ash. Ash didn't like guns, he never had. As the cold steel touched his hands he already hated the feel, but he guessed that if John would feel better knowing he could handle one… He repeated John's actions and fired a shot. The recoil surprised him slightly, but he recovered and fired several more.

"I see you've gotten it down already. The recoil usually takes some getting used to." John said as he rummaged through the closet again. He pulled out a holster which would put the gun under one's armpit and tossed it to Ash. Obviously he was required to keep the gun.

"Take that and put it on. I doubt Chris will waste a lot of time, so I'm going to get a bite to eat now." That said John headed for the door. Ash's stomach agreed with the idea to get food with a rumble, so Ash quickly followed.

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"Sir, the ships are all loaded and ready to go." The Rocket reported. "Excellent, I'll be right over. Gather everyone at the docks." Kane rolled up the map and put it in a carry case. Finally the day was there. Today, or actually tomorrow, his plans would all come together. He'd been working towards this moment for years, and now it was finally there. Tomorrow he'd take out all major threats and gain Giovanni's total trust. Just what he needed for phase two to succeed. However, first Cinnabar had to fall. He walked outside and eyed the now deserted tent camp in the massive stretch of land surrounding the house. As he reached the docks his strike force was lined up in front of him. He walked past the rows of men slowly. A look of determination was set on each pair of eyes, except for two pairs that looked distrustful. Butch and Cassidy never liked him, or trusted him for that matter. But he didn't care; they'd be dead soon and nothing would stand in his way.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is a great day for Team Rocket! A great day for all of us! Tomorrow we will crush the rebels that have been causing us many troubles these past few months and that blasted Lavender Faction as well! Kanto will finally be ours without any form of resistance!" Cheers erupted from the crowd. "In moments we will take place in our ships and set sail, and tomorrow will bring us only Victory!" He had about twelve high speed ships at his disposal. Each vessel could contain forty men, bringing the total manpower under his command to four hundred and eighty. He himself had a ship as well, fitted with all sorts of devices to command the operation. That ship would contain twenty of his best men, brining the total to five hundred.

"Dismissed, embark in your ships!" Five hundred men… Blaine wouldn't stand a chance. The men hurried to their ships and soon the air was filled with the sounds of revving diesel engines. Kane reached the bridge of his ship and ordered the fleet to set sail. The small port emptied as the ships raced towards the horizon.

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"Every one's ready, just give the word." The past few hours had been hectic. The construction of rafts had been stepped up a notch and John had been running around collecting big bird Pokémon and strong swimming Pokémon. Now they were ready as they stood near Fuchsia's beach. It was a lot closer to Cinnabar than Lavender was, so they'd driven there first, hoping to save time.

"Right, let's go. We've wasted enough time. Put as much people on the Pokémon as they can carry and the rest of us will take the rafts." When this was over Chris would make sure they stole some boats for future use. Having to use rafts wasn't really what he had in mind, but they'd have to do for now.

Meanwhile Ash got on his Charizard with Ritchie. John and Franky would travel on John's Pidgeot. Several other flyers were gathered as well. There were Fearow, Swellow, Pidgeot and the occasional Charizard. As all of them were loaded with their human cargo Chris and his part of men pushed the rafts into the water and jumped on. They then called out their water Pokémon and had them pull the rafts.

The odd looking convoy of rafts and birds set off towards Cinnabar Island, where the important battle was set to take place.

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_To Be Continued…

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AN:** _I am very sorry for the delay in update time. Words cannot explain how sorry. To make up I've also posted a new story. It could be classed as a prequel to this one I guess. And yes, I'm aware my profile stated it wouldn't be started until this one was finished, but screw that. I'm hoping having another story will get me the necessary drive and inspiration to keep them chapters coming. As for now, see you later, and Review please!_

_WeirdDutchGuy_


	10. Kane Unfolds His Plan

**AN:**_Greetings readers, I have exams coming up VERY soon, so writing right now might not be the smartest thing for me to do, but I feel like writing today. Should I fail one or more it'll not be your fault. I just can't be arsed to study, heheh. Let's just get this started now._

_I was going to reply to my reviews as I've been doing every chapter, but the Admins have banned it. Though I heavily disagree with it, I'm not one to break the rules and as such I will no longer list reviewers and reply to their questions the easy way. Instead, if any of you say something worth commenting on, or ask something worth while, I will now go through the painstaking process of replying manually using the buttons the Admins gave us. This of course does require the anonymous reviewers to either create an account or supply their email address in the box it gives you.

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Chapter Ten: Kane Unfolds His Plan.

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Kane made his way to the crew quarters of his boat and entered. Left foot chained to one of the beds, Gary Oak stood there. Bruised, but otherwise fine, giving Kane the nastiest look he could manage. "What's the deal, Rocket? Why am I here?" He sneered at Kane. 

"You are here to thank you for the kind and generous offering of information, mister Oak. Thanks to your loose tongue I have turned my brilliant ploy into the most important battle this country has ever seen!" Kane's eyes twinkled as he spoke. It was always said that genius and insanity bordered narrowly, and Kane was walking on that thin line bordering the two. He was thrilled at the prospect of a battle in which hundreds of men and Pokémon alike would perish. Yes, in Gary's eyes the man was insane, yet his genius couldn't be ignored. He had toyed with Gary the entire time, playing on his emotions to extract the wanted information.

"Don't worry, mister Oak. We were already planning to attack Cinnabar anyway, but now I know this will truly be the battle that will decide the fate of this country, if not the world!" Why wouldn't he just shut up and leave?

"Humph and why would that be?" Gary snarled, triggering a mock hurt expression on Kane's face.

"Your hostile attitude hurts me Oak. I just wanted you to see what you made possible. I want you to see how your last hope gets crushed together with the last resistance in this region. I want you to know you made it possible for us to turn our attention to Johto afterwards." Gary growled at this, knowing Kane was playing with him again. "So that's why I'm on this boat? You're not going to drown me and put me out of my misery? That's too bad."

"Oh there's a time for everything mister Oak. Who knows, maybe on the way back." Kane grinned as he continued. "You see, this is a very important battle. If we win, there will be no resistance and we'll be able to concentrate our forces on the Johto border in order to take it as well. In the very unlikely case of us losing, I might get demoted and my plans postponed. Furthermore the resistance would actually stand a decent chance at succeeding to free Kanto. I really wouldn't want you to miss it." Kane walked back to the bridge laughing loudly.

"Has the contingency plan been prepared yet?" He asked upon arrival. After a nod from his communications officer he moved to the large windscreen at the front. "It has sir, as you requested all the important prisoners have been relocated to the maximum security facility near Saffron." Good, everything was going perfectly according to plan.

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The sun had set a few hours ago, and the little light that was left was barely enough to navigate. Using the coastline as a guide, the convoy made good progress, but at that speed it would still take hours before they got to Cinnabar. Chris sighed as he fidgeted with Gengar's Pokéball. He was leading a group of men towards a battle on an island far from home, but despite the distance between the battle and home, it could certainly tip the scale in favor of the winning side. The pressure was high, but as always he showed none. He felt it though, pressing on his shoulders with more weight than ever. John's humor had kept him alive and positive, still burning with the same passion he had when they first set off. Chris wasn't so lucky. The continuous strain of leading a band of rebels against the oppressive Team Rocket combined with his already semi-serious attitude had left him cold and distant. "Like a ghost…" He mused as he spun Gengar's ball some more.

"Hey boss, do you think we'll win?" A middle-aged man asked as he sat down beside him. Chris always found it strange how even his seniors considered him to be the leader. He gazed at the horizon while pondering the question.

"If we get there in time, we have a decent chance. If not, we'll have a hard time. In any case, this could go either way, but should we pull this off our dream might not be all that unrealistic anymore." He finally answered. The man frowned, an open answer, as usual.

"Yeah, it would really make my day when we can finally kick that bastard out of his office." Came the gruff reply. The man stood up and started for the center of the raft, but stopped and turned his head. "Do you want some coffee? You look like you need some. It's black though, we're out of milk."

Chris barely paid attention, but caught enough of it to nod 'yes' before returning to his thoughts. Kane's presence on the island was pretty much a certainty now. Nobody could convince him otherwise, and his hatred flared as the face of the man formed in front of him, the usual smirk plastered firmly below his cold eyes. Perhaps now they could finish what they started so many years ago. According to his rational side, the thought of finally winning the ongoing fight qualified as a decent revenge for the death of his father, but deep down Chris knew that when they would stand face to face again, he would want more than just beat Kane in a battle. He just hoped John or someone else would be there to stop him from killing Kane. Death would be too kind for him. In fact, even rotting in a jail cell would be too nice. Chris couldn't come up with a decent punishment, though continuous torture should be in it.

Up in the sky,

John sighed in annoyance as Frank complained about the cramp in his leg for the nth time. Following his count, this was the fourteenth complaint in the last ten minutes. Even John had a limit. They'd have bigger things to worry about when they got there. Cramp would be the least of their problems. Besides, Franky agreed to riding on Pidgeot himself, it was not like they'd forced him. John tried to peer through the darkness as they passed the rafts again. With flying being so much faster than sailing, the airborne had to keep circling to let the rafts keep up. John checked his watch again, like he had ten minutes ago, and several times before that. At this pace it would take until dawn to even get within view of Cinnabar.

"Are we there yet? My leg is getting stiff! Seriously, it hurts!" Franky lamented again, causing John to growl in annoyance. "No, it'll take a few hours at best, so stop whining and sit still. You're throwing Pidgeot off course with your squirming." More groans ensued.

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The workers at the Cinnabar docks looked at the horizon as the first rays of sunlight rose above the waves. The moment didn't last very long, as they quickly got back to work. Blaine has stressed the need for decent blockades on the roads and beach exits. At this point just about half of the blockades were finished, but the men were getting tired and the work was slowing down. As one of the workers rested against the blockade he just finished, he peered at the horizon. He could've sworn he saw something, but the sun's light was blinding his view. He looked a little bit closer and saw something was most definitely out there. Kane's ships had started moving just as the sun rose up behind them. In all, twelve of the fastest ships were speeding towards every major beach and dock in the area. The worker headed towards one of the trainers posted at the docks to act as a lookout.

"Hey, are those the guys from Lavender?" The lookout turned in the direction the worker was pointing at.

"It could be. But I don't think Lavender's that way, is it?" The man responded as he took out his binoculars. After taking a long look through the glass there was a sharp intake of air before he ran off. The worker watched on confused as the man made his way to the Gym. Minutes later the first ship buried itself in the concrete wall of the dock with its steel bow, tearing a good chunk out of it. The worker saw the big red 'R' and ran away as fast as he could. All over the north coast of the island ships were landing. The defenders were in disarray as they weren't prepared for the attack this early. Still, some groups stuck together and tried to get some form of organized defense up.

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The sun had risen not too long ago and Cinnabar was finally within sight. But neither of the men and women approaching the island liked the sight. The city on the coast of the volcanic island was burning and sometimes the occasional flare of a powerful Pokémon attack could be seen on the mountain itself. They would be too late to make a real difference. Chris put down the binoculars he'd been watching through and called John to land on the large raft. There was barely enough space, but John somehow managed to squeeze on.

"We need a plan, and fast." Chris started. "If we keep going like this the fight will be over before we even get there. You and the other flyers should get there as fast as you can and stall us some time. I'll see if we can speed things up over here."

John nodded before taking off again. He knew his brother was right and they should get there fast. Flying back up into the concentration of Flying types, he motioned all of them to come closer. Once they were within hearing range he explained the new plan before leading the way. As the birds sped off, Chris turned to the rowers and the trainers of the Water types pulling the rafts.

"Listen, we need to go faster. I know I'm pushing you, but if we don't get there soon there won't be a Cinnabar to save. I want you to give it your best, even if it means being drained when we make it there. The important thing is getting there on time, no matter what." He said as he raised the binoculars again, watching for a good place to land. "If we can make it, I want to land on the south side. Even if it's farther than the east it'll be worth it as we'll be landing near Blaine's forces instead of right in the middle of the fighting. Then you can rest while the rest of us hold off the Rockets."

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As Chris was busy speeding up progress on the water, John led his group straight to the island. Ash was having mixed feelings towards this fight. He'd never experienced open warfare before, in fact not one person in this group had. What they were heading for was beyond the normal in-and-out jobs done by the resistance. He'd already come to terms with the fact that most likely he'd be required to kill, but he wasn't sure if he actually could. More people and Pokémon would be dying every minute. "So if we stop the fight quickly, less will die." His decision was made. He glanced back at Ritchie, who carried a determined look. At least he wouldn't stand alone.

Now that they got closer to the island they could make out the fighting sides. As they got closer the fighting paused as both sides looked up in surprise. The pause didn't last long before the first people got a grip on themselves. Soon several Rockets had their Pokémon targeting the loaded birds. Charizard barely dodged a good aimed Thunderbolt and opened his mouth to retaliate with his favorite attack while Ash and Ritchie clung on trying not to fall. John's Pidgeot gracefully dodged all attacks thrown at it while Frank was suffocating John with his vice-like grip in an attempt to stay on the Pokémon. The so far one-sided battle for Cinnabar Island had taken a new turn…

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_To Be Continued…

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AN:** _Not the longest chapter, but one that shows the outcome is quite uncertain. Ah, the power... I could make anything happen now. The next chapter, or maybe two, will have a big impact on the outcome of the entire story. Yes, it is nice making you guys wonder if I am going for a happy ending or a dark void. Mwahahahaha, ahem. Anyway, feel free to review. Reviews will be put to good use. Flames shall light my barbeque, constructive criticism shall be used for overall improvement, and compliments framed to fuel my drive forward._

_WeirdDutchGuy _


	11. Battle for Cinnabar Island

**Disclaimer:** Even though I wrote this, it seems it isn't mine, no matter what I try. But… moves closer and whispers in a few years time we might be able to actually buy the rights, if Pokémon becomes unpopular enough. So stop watching and start saving!

But in all seriousness, this story and all the places, names, and characters appearing in it, are entirely fictional and ripped from various aspects of the Pokémon anime. All original characters appearing in this story were created by me, and will not be used without my permission. If you want guest appearances, ask for it first. Taking things without permission is stealing. Stealing is bad. Don't do it.

**Category:** General

**Rating:** PG-13

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**Fight For Freedom.**

By: WeirdDutchGuy, email: swampthing1132athotmaildotcom

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**Chapter Eleven: Battle for Cinnabar Island.**

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"Get to the ground!" John shouted as his Pidgeot performed aerial acrobatics that would make the Olympics look bad to dodge the attacks thrown at them. Pidgeot complied and lowered itself to the ground. John took out two Pokéballs and moments later Pidgeot was recalled and the shape of an Alakazam was forming rapidly. The others were starting to land all over the place, causing some rather confusing moments before both sides were able to distinguish friend from foe again. John realized their position wasn't exactly great, out in a large open field with Rockets on one side and Trainers on the other, and attacks flying across from both sides. The field was right at the foot of the volcano and surrounded by trees. From the looks of it the city had already been captured and Blaine was retreating to the far end of the island. 

"We need to get out of here, it's too dangerous out in the open! Head for-" John started, but he cut short as he dodged a Razor Leaf attack that was about to give him a haircut. "Barrier! Alakazam, use Barrier, now!"

Alakazam responded immediately and raised the barrier just in time to stop some bullets from reaching him and his Trainer. The Rockets who fired them swore and aimed for other targets, but Charizard's Flamethrower reached the group first causing extensive damage to anything nearby. As John waved his thanks, he and Frank were approached by a two Trainers from Blaine's side.

"Are you the guys from Lavender?" One of them asked while the four made their way to the tree line. John nodded and turned back to the field, where his group was still landing. He flinched as a Fearow and its rider were hit and plummeted the last few meters.

"We're here to help you slow them down, the rest of us are landing with rafts elsewhere. Looks like things aren't going too well." John replied, still watching everything from where he stood. They had fought somewhat open battles before, but on a much smaller scale, and always under the cover of darkness. Now, in broad daylight, he could see the injury and chaos clearly.

"They already forced us out of the town at daybreak. We've been fighting a losing battle ever since they turned our own defenses around and used them against us." John's frown increased as the Trainer spoke. Chris's hunch had been dead on, they would've landed right into a trap. No doubt remained as to who was behind all this now.

* * *

Nearly all of the Water Pokémon were nearing their limits as the rafts got closer and closer to the south shore. During the past hour, they had paddled for all they were worth, and then some. Even a mighty Gyarados was having trouble swimming straight, and a few of the creatures had already been recalled minutes earlier. Chris frowned at the sight, knowing they would in fact be needing every one of them. They weren't even on the island yet, but their numbers were falling. But it still didn't go fast enough. As precious as numbers were, time was also in short supply, and he and his posse had wasted quite a lot of it getting here. And so, as the first raft finally made landfall, a sigh of relief passed through Chris's gritted teeth before he ran up the beach towards a lone sentry. 

"Thank god you're here, this way!" The girl said before running off towards the base of the mountain. Chris struggled to keep up, trying to get used to moving his legs again after spending hours on that raft. He followed her through some thick bushes and into a small clearing. Right in the middle stood a bald man, with deep wrinkles edged in his narrow face. The man was wearing a rather bizarre outfit considering what was going on, clothing himself like a stereotypical Western tourist, complete with a multi colored, and very bright Hawaiian shirt. Chris recognized the man as Blaine, an old friend of his grandfather.

"And now for a quiz. It has changed over time, but it hasn't lost its sense of time." He said as he turned away from the table he was leaning over and saw Chris. Chris smiled at the odd game the man always played, and the memories that came back at hearing the riddle. Knowing he meant him, Chris pointed at himself. "Ha-ha! Still as clever and quick witted as ever I see! Good to have you here boy, even if it could be under some less violent circumstances."

"I know what you mean. We got a good look at the mess on the way here. Is it really as bad as it looks?" Chris asked. Blaine's face went solemn at the question as he seemingly stared ahead into the distance.

"Pretty bad Chris, pretty bad." He said as he turned around and strolled back to the table. On it was a map of the island. Drawn on the map with some sort of marker were a ton of arrows and numbers that would probably drive any normal man mad just looking at it. Blaine had kept notes of the battle. "They've overrun our positions in the harbor early this morning. While we were pulling back we got cut off by a second force that landed here, on the Western shore. The only place we could still go was up, so we took the high lands and held them off while most of my volunteers evacuated to this crude base camp. At the moment I'd say we still have about half of the island, that's including half of the mountain."

"Half?" Chris asked. There was quite a bit of mountain as far as he knew. That thing alone would count for two thirds of the island. Seen from a Birdseye view anyway, like on the map in front of him. Half of it was one third.

"Yes, half. But they're pushing us back. I'm thinking of abandoning the top of the volcano before they surround it. I'd rather have my back to sea instead of having it exposed. If all else fails we can evacuate to Johto."

"I think I'll go and take a look at the top and see what it's like all around the island. The view is better from up there. I should be able to see everything." Chris said before turning away, ready to head to the top of the volcano.

"Be careful Chris, you might get cut off. Our line is falling apart." Blaine warned. Chris waved it off and kept going. "Kids these days, so rash." He muttered after he started walking towards the beach. Chris's men were finally here, and most of them were pretty capable trainers. The reinforcements were very welcome.

* * *

Gary stumbled on a rock and almost made a head first collision with the floor before he managed to restore his balance. As he swore under his breath, his captors chuckled in amusement. There were six Rockets in total, three on either side of him. And of course, Kane was up in front, and laughing. 

"Come now mister Oak, surely an accomplished trainer such as yourself can keep his balance a little better than that." The madman taunted.

"Easy for you to say." Gary growled back. "Your arms aren't tied."

"Details, details. Just keep going and stop stalling. We have a helicopter to catch." Kane said as they continued through the fairly badly damaged town. Blaine's followers had put up a stiffer struggle than Kane thought they would, but it had made little difference in the end. Numbers were on his side. Now that the town had fallen, the Rockets had started to push deeper into the island, trying to sweep along the sides and hopefully force a large amount of Blaine's troops to the volcano's top. The pincer movement was almost complete, but something had just happened that could very well spoil everything. Those blasted Fuji twins had shown up earlier than planned. And now Oak wasn't really cooperating either. He kept slowing them down in any way he could think of.

"Why don't you carry me then?" Gary spat. Kane stopped for a moment and looked back over his shoulder, almost as if he was considering it. But it wasn't exactly what he had in mind. Looking ahead again, Kane judged the distance they still had to cover and started walking again.

"No, I'd rather drag you; it's more fitting." With that, he snapped his fingers and one of the Rockets roughly pushed their prisoner onto the ground, be it under loud protest. Two of the others quickly walked up and grabbed a leg each and started to drag Gary the rest of the way. Kane laughed again as Gary let loose a string of complaints. "Should've kept your smart mouth shut, mister Oak. Don't worry, it's only half a mile to the chopper. Hahaha!"

* * *

Ash flinched as a Rocket flew through the air and landed a couple of dozen meters away with a sickening thud. John's Alakazam had whirled him effortlessly into the air and didn't bother for a controlled landing. The gun John had given him was in his hand, but the safety was still on, and he hadn't used it once since they got to the island. For some reason he felt slightly safer with it. Things had looked good for a while after Ash and the other guys almost literally fell from the sky. The Rockets had been stunned for a moment, not knowing what to do, and whoever was in charge on Blaine's side had used that moment to drive them back a fair distance. But Team Rocket had gotten a grip on itself once more and was starting to push back now. Hard. 

"We can't hold them!" The desperate cry came from somewhere on his left, and Ash quickly turned that way to see what the problem was. A Rhyhorn had ran straight through the defense and was now busy chasing a few trainers, obviously trying to trample them. Not really knowing what to do about it, Ash yelled for Charizard to use Flamethrower on the armor-plated Pokémon. Charizard obeyed his command and broke from his own battle, making a u-turn in flight and firing a massive tongue of flames from his mouth. The Rhyhorn got a glimpse of what was coming its way, but it was engulfed by the fire before it had a chance to do anything. After the smoke cleared, it was on the ground, cross-eyed, and heavily burnt. But the damage was done as the line they'd so carefully tried to defend got breached. With a weak spot in it, the Rockets started attacking and soon they were everywhere.

"Fall back!" Someone shouted a fair distance away. It had to be John, not that it mattered much. Soon trainers were running back, some having to recall their Pokémon to get them out of the fight they were in. Ash looked up while retreating after he heard a faint noise. A black helicopter was heading for the top of the volcano.

* * *

Chris had been trudging along for about fifteen minutes now, trying to keep up his pace while climbing the side of the mountain. The top would offer a far better view of the battle than Blaine's chart. In fact, Chris wasn't even sure if the old man could read his own notes, never mind anyone else being able to read that. The arrows had pretty much pointed everywhere with random numbers next to them. But from the little bit he did understand, he knew he didn't have a lot of time. The Rockets were closing in from both sides, and it would have to be a quick peek once he got to the top. Else he'd risk getting caught, which wasn't really what he was after. 

"Almost…" Chris grunted as he got closer and closer to the crater's edge. The top of the volcano used to be active, but after the last eruption much of the crater had caved in on itself, leaving pretty much a flat plateau. Other than warm feet and the occasional jet of steam nothing gave away that the volcano was still very much alive. However, nobody thought it was likely it would blow any time soon. Apparently Blaine still used this place for his Gym battles. It was flat, round, fairly big, and had a clear sky. It was nearly perfect for battling. _'And now it's a strategic point in a war…'_

Panting from exertion, Chris finally made it to the top. After a few steps onto the plateau a chill went down his spine as he heard a chuckle come from his left. "Well, well, if it isn't mister Fuji. I would've never thought I'd meet you here." As the sarcasm from the words sunk in, Chris turned around to face the man he knew would be there. Standing near the crater's edge, a big smirk plastered onto his face while chuckling lightly, was Kane. He looked exactly the same as he had when he shot Chris's father, the same cruel smile, the same laugh, the same spark in his cold blue eyes.

That sick smirk of his was enough to make Chris' blood boil, but Kane just had to add some salt to the wound. Stepping aside Kane revealed a hostage, a hostage Chris recognized as Gary Oak, grandson of the famed Professor Samuel Oak, who had disappeared along with so many others right after the Rocket takeover. Gary looked like he'd seen better days, but his face showed his spirit had not been broken… yet. Chris was reminded of his own friends and family, and how they too had disappeared. Something told him that was exactly what Kane was aiming for.

"Where are they?" Chris asked with a harsh voice. The question probably didn't surprise Kane, but he acted like he knew nothing. Chris hated the way Kane could get under one's skin with just some simple well placed words and gestures. "You know what I'm talking about, now answer. Are they alive?"

"Of course they're alive; I don't kill without a reason. What do you hold me for?" Kane replied with faked shock, but obvious attempts to stifle his laughter.

"A coldhearted man with no regard for life, that's what I hold you for." Chris growled. Kane's demeanor changed instantly as he narrowed his eyes.

"Your situation hardly allows you to throw insults, mister Fuji. You should take heed of the fact one false word may give me the one reason I need…"

"Stop threatening with hostages and fight fairly for once, you coward!" Chris exclaimed as he reached for his pocket. Kane laughed and made no effort to follow. Instead, he motioned one of his grunts to come forward with a suitcase.

"Why mister Fuji, you should know no battle is truly fair. There's always some form of advantage for one of the sides, if not by Pokémon type, then by the attacks they know, or the vast difference in level and statistics. Pokémon battles are like numbers mister Fuji, calculating the outcome beforehand pretty much guarantees the win. Fair battles exist only in your imagination, and now, it's time for you to lose." Kane opened the suitcase, revealing six Pokéballs inside. "I've prepared and fought this battle countless times inside my head, but the outcome never changed. Today I can't afford to lose, and so I will refuse to lose. By this time tomorrow, everything you stand for will lie in ruins, and I will rule over Kanto."

Chris chuckled as he tried to pick which of his Pokémon should fight first. "So you're planning mutiny? I could've known. People like you never have enough power, you always crave more. I'm afraid I'll have to smash your dream Kane, because I can't let that happen."

"As if you have a choice…" Kane smirked. "Your options are both equally horrible. Save your friends by losing today, but Kanto will be mine, or save the world by sacrificing your friends. Or should I say, postpone the inevitable rather than save the world. Either way, you lose."

Chris growled. Kane had him on the ropes; he just couldn't compete in mind games like this. Kane was obviously banking on Chris either forfeiting to save the lives of his friends, or fighting with a constant worry in the back of his head. Either way would make Kane's part a lot easier. The problem was deciding whether to win, or lose on purpose. He couldn't let Kane win, obviously, but could he decide about the lives of his friends? Could he play God?

"Enough, I will fight and I will win, even if it means 'losing'. At least it means you lose too. Now go, Arcanine!" He had decided, he would win if his luck would permit it. If Kane had prepared as he said, this wouldn't be a walk in the park. The fiery dog appeared on the scorched earth and barked its name loudly. Kane smirked evilly and picked up one of the balls from the suitcase.

"These Pokémon were flown in just for this battle. You will see you don't stand a chance against this team." So Kane wouldn't be fighting with his own Pokémon, not that Chris expected him to fight fair, but this was lower than he was used to. "Oh, don't give me that look; surely you weren't expecting an honest fight. Feel glad I'm sticking to the rules and using only six Pokémon, it could've been much worse. Now go, Blastoise!"

And thus it started…

* * *

_To Be Continued…_

* * *

**AN:** Yes, I'm alive I suppose. And how! I think this is one of the longer chapters. Then again, it was about damn time, huh. Let's see here, that's over 3300 words just from the chapter, not including the notes etcetera. And guess what… not much action again. But, next chapter is going to be something else. I'm hoping to conclude this part of the story in it, but the story itself won't be done by a long shot. They still have some places to go, after all, I can't have Kane's back up plan go to waste without using it. 

To my loyal readers: Wow… that's pretty poor… only a single update in the whole of 2006. I realize I've neglected this story beyond comprehension. I've focused too much on other stories, and I've spent way too much of my time sitting around doing absolutely nothing. Actually, I haven't just neglected this story, but also its loyal readers. I mean, come on, you have to be incredibly interested to even be reading this right now. I'm deeply sorry for not giving this story the attention it so deserves. I started out with this thing well over two years ago, and though I never really thought about it much back then, I'm surprised at how far it's come, how far my general writing style has come. Looking back at the early chapters of this thing, I'm both shocked and amused at the poor quality, and I feel that if there is a piece out there that captivates my improvement from start to finish, then it has to be this one. That demands even more respect from me towards you guys, for sitting it through like that in my period of slacking. I thank all of you for bearing with me, without you I wouldn't exist, and once again I'm sorry for forgetting this story even existed. I'm going to see if I can be a bit more active from now on. You deserve it, and I owe it to myself.


	12. Chris versus Kane

* * *

**Disclaimer:** This is a disclaimer. Do you know what that means? Yes, it means I disclaim owning any of this stuff, whether I wrote it or not. Now shoo, I don't want to be reminded of the fact that I don't own my own story (even if I did blatantly nick the whole universe it plays in).

But in all seriousness, this story and all the places, names, and characters appearing in it, are entirely fictional and ripped from various aspects of the Pokémon anime. All original characters appearing in this story were created by me, and will not be used without my permission. Taking things without permission is stealing. Stealing is bad. Don't do it.

**Category:** General

**Rating:** PG-13

* * *

**Fight ****For**** Freedom.**

**By: **_**WeirdDutchGuy**_**, email: **_**swampthing1132****athotmaildotcom**_

* * *

**Chapter Twelve: Chris versus Kane!**

* * *

_  
_He stared down his opponent, not even seeming to take notice of the giant bipedal turtle taking form before him. Or the two big-ass water cannons that were poking from its shell. This wasn't the first time he and his opponent clashed. They had done so numerous times when he was still journeying, trying to become the best, as all naïve children did at that age. The man standing at the other end of the crater though had never tried to be the best. Yet for some reason the two had always been somewhat evenly matched, depending on the situation. Some of their fights had been ties, but most had never been finished. Not one fight had had a definite winner. But this time, Chris told himself, things would be different. This time Kane would lose, and the nightmares would end.

Kane, meanwhile, smirked as he noticed Chris's eyes drilling into his with a ferocity he hadn't quite seen before. Inwardly though, he was grumbling. It told him Chris was as determined to win as he said he was, despite the threats to his friends and family. It meant a hard fight, even with the huge type advantages he would have. Even so, the time to end this petty feud was now. Too long had this kid been in his way, a constant peril to his plans. Taking his eyes off his opponent for a moment, Kane took in the battlefield. A desolate crater, devoid of vegetation, with only little cover and a pleasant warmth underneath their feet. The blasted thing was still active, Kane noted, and followed it by noting he would have to make it quick. Keeping his cool or not, it wasn't exactly the most comforting idea to fight on top of an active volcano. If it blew… but no, thinking that was silly.

Suddenly, after a fairly long period of silence, both battlers sprung into action as if on cue. Kane tried to take the initiative by ordering a Hydro Pump, but Chris countered the massive jets of water by having his Arcanine use Agility and dodge them, only to turn it into an offensive move moments later by yelling Extreme Speed. The large fiery dog barked once before it practically vanished into thin air, traveling faster than the human eye could follow and landing a quick but powerful hit on the Blastoise's head before it could retract it.

"I see you haven't lost your touch, Fuji." Kane spat while thinking of his next move. "Too bad it won't be good enough, Blastoise, use Bubblebeam!"

"Arcanine, Flamethrower!" Chris ordered as the large tank-like Blastoise fired a powerful jet of fine bubbles from its cannons. The dog complied immediately and let loose a giant flame, popping any bubbles it hit, but because of the force of the attack it wasn't able to push the attack back to the Blastoise. It was a stalemate, with both attacks extinguishing each other. But it wouldn't last very long, as Arcanine had to breathe while Blastoise could just keep firing. Chris realized this and raced for an answer. "Flamewheel!" Arcanine stopped its attack and growled ferociously, setting itself alight before dashing directly at the incoming Bubblebeam. The sheer intensity of the fire around it evaporated the beam before it could even get close, though the rush of air that came with it meant slower progress. Still, Arcanine managed to pick up speed and leapt at the turtle's slightly softer belly plating.

"Big mistake Fuji, Body Slam!" Kane snapped at his Pokémon, though Chris doubted the Blastoise was truly his. But it obeyed, and just before Arcanine delivered the attack the Blastoise cut off its Bubblebeam and just let itself fall forward, attempting to crush the approaching dog under its massive shell. It was too late for Chris to do anything about it, and the Arcanine's eyes widened in surprise at the turn of events. It made a weak attempt at stopping or at least changing direction, but Blastoise was having none of it and firmly landed on top of it. Arcanine let out a short yelp and then continued to groan in pain as the weight of the behemoth pressed down on it.

"No…" Chris gasped before pulling himself back together. "Flamewheel again, full intensity. Burn him off!" Arcanine complied again, its whimper turning into a growl once more as flames engulfed it. This time it was Blastoise's turn to be in pain as its face contorted in agony while its belly got cooked. Despite Kane's command to stay on, the large turtle eventually caved and jumped off, rubbing its burned abdomen.

"Blast it." Kane growled as Arcanine picked itself up from the ground.

* * *

_  
_"Quick, this way!" John waved his men in the right direction as they withdrew to their old positions. As the last of them - Ash, Ritchie and Frank as it happened - passed, he turned to follow. But something had them stop in their tracks. Lying on the ground in front of them were two very familiar persons. Butch and Cassidy, and from the looks of it neither was in a very good shape. Both had multiple gunshot wounds in their backs, and they were only just breathing, or more like rasping.

"Are they… dead?" Frank asked carefully as Ritchie checked them out.

"No, they're still alive, but barely." He replied, not taking his eyes off the two Team Rocket agents. "I don't think they're going to make it."

"Good, let's not waste anymore time on them then." John said cheerily, but with a hint of strictness that wasn't there before.

"Wait…" Cassidy croaked suddenly, her throat dry from lying there like that.

"Who did this?" Ash asked, genuinely concerned. They might be Team Rocket agents, but they were still human and in his eyes that meant they were worth life.

"It… it was Kane…" She hacked. "We were o-on our way to the mountain… with a p-prisoner… His men shot us… in the back…"

"Kane?" John suddenly asked. Cassidy nodded weakly from the ground before continuing.

"He… he's planning… rebellion… Wants to o-overthrow the Boss…" She said while her face went paler by the second. "Then he went up… the mountain. Said… he was expecting… someone."

John's eyes widened at this before he frowned deeply. His brother had said he wanted to get a clear view, and the top of the volcano was the highest place around. It was like Kane could read minds… Suddenly determination flashed across his face as he turned to the mountain, ready to leave. "Come. We're leaving."

"Huh?" Ash said in confusion before it changed to anger. "You mean you're going to leave them here? They'll die!"

"They're Team Rocket, they deserve it." John responded bluntly, waving the complaint away. Ash stared at him dumbfounded.

"Hey, look at it this way!" Ritchie tried desperately. "If you keep them alive now, they'll be able to give information later!" John stopped walking.

"Yeah, like in that saying. The enemy of my enemy is my friend." Frank added. John turned and glared at them, which took them by surprise. None of them had ever seen him act like this.

"Those two will never be my friends. Team Rocket made my real friends disappear and these two here are responsible for most of it. You win, we keep them alive, but if they can't get us any useful information… Let's just say they would've been better off here." He responded coldly. Franky gulped under the stare. This was a side of John he'd never seen before. "Frank, you'll take them to Blaine's camp. You two come with me. I have a brother to rescue."

Just as they all started moving, Cassidy's hand grabbed Ash's leg as he went past. Ash looked down into the frowning woman's eyes and saw a fire burning in them as she spoke to him through gritted teeth. "Hey… g-get him for me… twerp!" Ash nodded, and Cassidy smiled softly before she slumped back down on the floor. Ash could've sworn he saw the lights go out right before she closed her eyes… but he kept moving, ignoring the lump in his throat. John sped forward, intent on saving his brother. _'Though, knowing Chris…'_ he thought. _'He probably won't need saving…'_

* * *

_  
_Chris growled as Electabuzz hit the dirt and stayed down. Kane's Dugtrio seemed to take it lightly. This was the third Pokémon in a row Chris had lost, meaning he was halfway to defeat. His hand nearly grabbed Golducks's Pokéball before he realized Golduck was already out from its battle with Kane's Raichu. It was funny; the Raichu had seemed incredibly familiar somehow. Now that he thought of it; so did the Blastoise. Was Kane using stolen Pokémon? And if so, why did they obey him? However, instead of lingering on that Chris forced himself to focus on the battle. Arcanine, Golduck and now Electabuzz were down. That left him with Steelix, Venomoth, and Gengar. His hand closed around Steelix' ball.

Kane snorted as the steel giant formed. "Poor tactical choice, mister Fuji. The bigger they are, the bigger a target they represent. Dugtrio, Earthquake!"

"Iron Defense!" Chris countered immediately. Steelix stiffened its body and endured the attack, as Chris had hoped, and then focused its vicious eyes on the tiny mole in front of it. He decided to waste no time with his own attack. "Crunch!"

"Dig, dig!" Kane shouted as the metal snake let its head drop swiftly towards Dugtrio. The little Pokémon obeyed its master immediately and shot into the ground, causing Steelix to get nothing but a mouth full of dirt. But it was what Chris had been hoping for, and Kane growled in realization.

"Earthquake Steelix, now." Chris ordered calmly. Steelix roared as it slammed its tail into the ground, causing a massive tremor. As everybody braced himself to just stay standing, Dugtrio reappeared from its hole, screeching in pain before passing out. It was the first KO in Chris' favor, and Kane was not pleased with it.

"Luck!" He spat.

"Keep thinking that." Chris smirked smugly.

"Enough! Blastoise, time to finish this one off!" Kane roared as he released Blastoise from its Pokéball again. The burn on its belly was still there, and Chris hoped it would be severe enough to handicap the large tortoise. If not, Steelix didn't stand much of a chance. "Blastoise, Hydro Pump!"

"Dig! Steelix Dig!" Chris shouted, but the massive blasts of water had almost reached Steelix before it could move. Chris watched in shock as the massive Steel giant was lifted by the force of the water and shot past on his left, only to be dropped a fair distance away, out cold. "Damn it!" He cursed as he went over his options. What did he have left? Electabuzz, Golduck, Arcanine, and now Steelix… they were all downed so easily. He growled as it dawned on him that he only had two more chances; Gengar and… "Venomoth, come out!"

"Still not using Gengar, are you?" Kane chuckled as he tried to find a reason for this choice. Gengar would've no doubt made short work of Blastoise, but yet Chris had chosen to use Venomoth. Though neither choice would've meant a type advantage, Gengar's speed, combined with its insane attack power would've been the end for the strong but sluggish Blastoise. But Venomoth held no advantages at all… "Very well, so be it. I guess losing must be messing with your psyche. After all, it's such a strange sensation, isn't it? Hahaha!"

"I don't plan on losing." Chris said as he slid Venomoth's Pokéball back in his pocket. "Try to get under my skin all you want. All it is, is a waste of time! Venomoth, use Toxic!" The large moth buzzed forward and showered Blastoise in a poisonous substance. Kane stamped on the ground in annoyance.

"That was a cheap shot!"

"Cheap or not, you should keep your head on the battle, not on smooth talk! Venomoth, Psybeam!" Chris countered, taking even more advantage of Kane's distraction. Venomoth fired and scored a direct hit, throwing the pained Blastoise on its back.

"What are you doing?! Get back up on your feet!" Kane ordered, and Chris almost felt sorry for the Rocket's Pokémon. Amazingly, Blastoise managed to turn itself around again after a few tries, despite its burn and being badly poisoned. With a long grunt the powerful Pokémon rose back to its feet and turned to glare at Kane. "You're looking the wrong way! The enemy is over there!" Blastoise didn't budge. "Remember what we discussed earlier. You would be wise to follow my orders. If not, I'm afraid I cannot guarantee the safety of certain people…" With that, Blastoise finally turned around with a sad look on its face. So, Chris thought, Kane really wasn't fighting with his own Pokémon. Even worse, he was using Pokémon that he stole from good people, and forced them to fight for him, and against anyone who might be their potential rescuer. The idea alone was sickeningly evil, but Kane didn't seem bothered in the slightest.

"Venomoth, use…" Chris trailed off. He knew now that he had to hurt otherwise friendly Pokémon to stop this madman, but it felt wrong. Unless… this could be used in his advantage. He knew Kane had leverage over these Pokémon, but if he could somehow convince them to stand up to him, like what Blastoise had just tried… But Blastoise would not try again. It had made its decision. _'I don't want to fight you. Not like this. This isn't fair. If we must battle, then it will be after you've been reunited with your own Trainer.'_ Chris said in his mind. _'But I'm out of options…'_ He was about to order his attack, when Blastoise suddenly fell forward. The poison and the burns had done their job. But Chris wasn't cheering this time. "Bring out your next, Rocket. So we can end this."

"Heheh, oh we'll end this alright." Kane was smirking again. "I'm sure you must've realized by now what you're up against. Even if you're willing to fight them with full strength, they're still some of the most powerful and well-trained Pokémon around. After all, Gym leaders and would-be Champions tend to be tough…"

"You… Even for you, this is cruel." Chris glared at the Rocket as he tried to calm himself. "I will not let you get away with this."

"But mister Fuji, I'm afraid you don't have a choice. You see, there can be only one winner." Kane reached for the suitcase again. "And I simply refuse to lose. Which, inevitably, means that you won't be around much longer. Now, I think I'm going to trim your moth's wings a bit. Come out, Slowbro!"

* * *

_  
_"I don't have time for you!" John yelled in frustration at the Rockets above him, knowing it probably wouldn't make them disappear.

"Make time! You're not going any higher up this mountain, pal!" One of the Rockets shouted back. "Wouldn't want you to disturb the boss! I mean, it's not every day that he gets the chance to deal with him!" They were just stalling. John knew they were. Else they would've attacked long ago, but instead they kept in hiding behind the rocks above. Just running up there would be suicide, but going around them was not an option either. Normally Chris wasn't one to worry about, but if there was a man out there that could break him, it would have to be Kane. _'And every minute we waste here helps him do it!'_

"John," Ash whispered, careful not to let the Rockets hear. "can't Alakazam teleport?" John looked back for a moment with a stunned look.

"Ash… You're a genius." John grinned as he slapped Ash' shoulder. "Hey Al, get over here for a sec!" Alakazam trotted over and listened. "Think you can Teleport us to the top of the mountain?" The Pokémon closed its eyes for a moment as it gave the plan some thought, then shook its head. "Too dangerous, eh?" Alakazam nodded after consulting its mental image of the area. Being psychic was a strong advantage to have, and the Pokémon probably had quite a bit of the island mapped, including the presence of friend and foe. John trusted its judgment. "How about right behind that lot over there?" He asked, pointing at the still taunting Rockets. Alakazam thought again and nodded.

"Alright guys, get ready. We're going to be right behind them and catch them by surprise… hopefully. Use it!" John's quick summary had Ash and Ritchie exchanging worried looks, but it was too late now… Alakazam had started glowing.

* * *

_To Be Continued…_

* * *

_  
_**AN:** Alright. So not as active as I'd like to be. I still want to finish this thing though, so bear with me.

Kudos to whoever can figure out which Pokémon Kane has used so far belongs to whom. Keep in mind that Dugtrio is his own! That leaves a Blastoise, a Raichu and a Slowbro, plus two more blank slots. The next chapter will finally see some more Gengar action, for those who liked the earlier battles. I've had some more practice now in writing battle scenes, so I'll make sure some sparks fly!

WeirdDutchGuy

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End file.
